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Sclerotherapy

Overview:

Sclerotherapy is a technique designed to shut down unsightly spider veins on legs, thighs, face or other body areas. Several substances can be injected to cause this effect. While providing identical results and downtime, detergents/foaming agents are generally considered painless while hypertonic saline injections are uncomfortable.

Sclerotherapy is used for the treatment of larger spider veins. It is often followed by several sclerolaser treatments which resolve extremely fine vessels that did not take to sclerotherapy.

Expected results:

Seventy percent reduction of spider veins after a series of treatments.

Preparation:

Avoidance of aspirin and ibuprofen for 10 days. Depending on the examination, ultrasound may be necessary to exclude reflux, which may hamper treatment success. If reflux is detected, a consultation with a vascular surgeon may be necessary to remove underlying varicosities.

Post treatment instructions:

Compression stockings 20-30 mmHg or higher for 6 weeks, sun avoidance for 3 months, avoidance of aspirin and ibuprofen for 3 days.

Time to desired results:

The reduction of spider veins can be seen 6 to 8 weeks after each treatment on the lower extremity; facial veins and those on the trunk usually respond faster.

Duration of desired effects:

5-7 years. After this time, our body will form new vessels, especially in genetically determined spider veins.

Limitations:

We do not perform treatments to veins on hands or on the upper or lower eyelids. Ankle veins are challenging to treat.

Contraindications:

History of bleeding or clotting disorders, diabetes, certain auto-immune disorders, pregnancy/breastfeeding, allergy to Sotrodecol or Polidocanol.

Downtime:

Up to 3 months of bruising or hyperpigmentation.

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Selected Patient Questions and Answers

Sclerotherapy - Patients ask, Dr. Ringpfeil answers

Please feel free to use the blog below to share information about Sclerotherapy or to ask Dr. Franziska Ringpfeil a question that might be of interest to others.

# of surveys: 4187
Last updated: 1/02/2024 11:10 AM

PATIENT RATINGS

Would you recommend us?

definitely: 93.1%
probably: 6.16%
maybe: 0.58%
not likely: 0.08%
no: 0.02%

Compare our service to other similar practices

excellent: 87.9%
very good: 10.1%
good: 1.8%
poor: 0.06%
very poor: 0%

Overall doctor performance

excellent: 94.2%
very good: 4.89%
good: 0.80%
poor: 0.03%
very poor: 0%

The doctor listened to you attentively

excellent: 93.9%
very good: 4.97%
good: 1.05%
poor: 0.05%
very poor: 0%

The doctor took time to answer your questions

excellent: 94.0%
very good: 4.66%
good: 1.27%
poor: 0.02%
very poor: 0%

The doctor explained treatment options

excellent: 94.3%
very good: 4.16%
good: 1.25%
poor: 0.14%
very poor: 0.02%

The doctor explained treatment options

excellent: 92.0%
very good: 5.69%
good: 2.18%
poor: 0.11%
very poor: 0.0%

Front desk performance

excellent: 85.6%
very good: 10.2%
good: 3.66%
poor: 0.31%
very poor: 0.08%

Aesthetician performance

excellent: 88.6%
very good: 7.61%
good: 3.39%
poor: 0.24%
very poor: 0.08%

Office comfort

excellent: 90.9%
very good: 6.93%
good: 2.08%
poor: 0.05%
very poor: 0.05%

Parking

excellent: 66.4%
very good: 14.4%
good: 15.7%
poor: 2.49%
very poor: 0.9%

Friendliness of the staff during appointment

excellent: 90.9%
very good: 7.23%
good: 1.85%
poor: 0.05%
very poor: 0%

What WE DID WELL

(Answers:674)

The neatness of the clinic and the efficency of the staff and the doctor. Dr. Ring fieil was wonderful and knows her fireld, i have been to several dermatologists and finally I found the one who knows what she is talking about.

#12026-01-19

Everything -- quiet, understated

#22026-05-10

the doctor was perfect- kind, open and informative

#32026-03-15

Did not have to wait long.

#42026-02-12

The computer registration

#52026-05-06

Did not have to wait at all. Other places I would wait 4 hours or more.

#62010-11-10 08:57:14

The doctor was excellent - really explained the issues and approaches very clearly. I would recommend this pratice to others!

#72026-06-16

Excellent service, did not have to wait long to be seen!

#82026-03-03

The amount of time the doctor spent and the medical assistant. I didn't feel rushed

#92026-05-19

Beautiful offfice. Doctor was thorough but quick, which was great

#102011-04-04 11:16:27

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What can we do better?

(answers:373)

keep doing what you did.

#12011-03-11 14:14:27

less waiting time in the room

#22026-06-06

less waiting time in the room

#32025-09-26

Overall excellent service. Friendly front desk staff. A very small suggestion would be to have someone immediately identify themselves as the person to register a new patient and direct where to go when someone enters the waiting room. With a big waiting room and three people at the front desk, it is a lot to take in and not know to whom to speak. Having had negative experiences with doctors' receptionists where all three of the three people at the front desk have ignored me until I called out and forced a response, I am sensitive to the issue and imagine others have had this experience as well.

#42011-01-31 10:42:48

Everything was wonderful - no complaints at all!

#52025-09-24

I was very happy with the care I received.

#62010-09-14 10:44:00

All aspects of care were remarkable--much better than I've encountered elsewhere.

#72026-02-28

I really can't think of anything to add

#82010-11-24 09:41:39

No room for improvement

#92026-06-29

I was a bit embarressed by not knowing more information regarding my parents history. I believe it would have been better handled if I were asked to please get more info and then let the dr's office know.

#102026-05-22

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Customer Rating : 4.7

Based on 637 ratings