Spider Vein Removal

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Spider veins are the little purple and blue squiggly clusters of veins just beneath the skin’s surface on the legs and face. Some people get them confused with varicose veins, but varicose veins are larger and usually push the surface skin upwards.

Why spider veins develop is not totally understood. The job of all veins is to return blood to the heart. In every vein are valves whose job is to keep the blood flow going one way — back to the heart. Sometimes these valves weaken with age and they allow some backward flow that causes pooling. Vein walls can also become weaker with time, allowing pooling. It is believed that jobs, where the person has to be on his or her feet all the time, can lead to the development of spider veins. There is also a genetic predisposition.

At N4 Esthetic Clinic we put our lasers to work zapping spider veins. We start by setting the laser wavelength to match the color of your spider vein. Then we direct the laser energy onto the vein, and the pigment in the blood vessel attracts the light energy, which converts to heat. That heat is absorbed by the vein walls, causing them to collapse and close off.

Most patients see immediate results with dramatic fading or complete disappearance of the unwanted vein. Sometimes it can take from 2-8 weeks for the unused vein to completely go away. Some veins require more than one treatment, while others respond to just a single laser session. Our lasers are especially effective on facial spider veins.