Sclerotherapy for Broken Blood Vessels in Face

[Guest guest]

Hi, Below is an article I found on Dermatology Times online edition

about how Sclerotherapy may be useful for prominent broken blood

vessels on the face. Here's a link to the article if you want to look

at the pictures they have. (You have to copy and paste both lines

into your browser.)

Take care,

Matija

http://www.dermatologytimes.com/dermatologytimes/article/articleDetail

..jsp?id=18431

May 1, 2002

By: Caroline Helwick

Dermatology Times

Sclerotherapy: Not just for leg veins anymore

Sclerotherapy benefits can extend to dilated reticulated facial veins

and prominent veins in the hand; all facial veins disappear in 50-

patient series after two months

New Orleans - The benefits of sclerotherapy are not limited to

varicose and spider veins of the legs. Dilated reticulated facial

veins and prominent veins in the hands are also amenable to

sclerotherapy, according to speakers at the annual meeting of the

American Academy of Dermatology.

Green, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology,

University Hospital, Washington, reported on a series of 50

patients whom he treated for dilated reticular veins on the eyelids

and around the eyes. For most patients, veins were permanently

removed after one sodium tetradecyl sulfate treatment; in all

patients, veins completely disappeared within two months and no new

veins appeared in the skin around the eyes during the 12-month follow-

up period. None of the 50 patients required a second sclerotherapy

treatment and no hyperpigmentation occurred at the site of treatment.

The best solution concentration for facial veins is 0.75 percent to 1

percent. Lower concentrations are not effective and are associated

with frequent failures and recurrences, he said.

Dr. Green reassured dermatologists that the procedure is safe as well

as effective. " Physicians have been reluctant to use sclerotherapy to

remove facial veins because they fear inflicting ophthalmologic or

neurologic complications. There have been no reports, however, of any

such complications, " he said at a press conference. The pathways of

venous drainage in the periocular region are such that there is no

direct connection between facial veins and ophthalmologic or

neurologic structures, he explained.

" The blood in the face drains down toward the neck into the internal

and external jugular veins, not into the ocular or cerebral

circulation, " he said.

Dr. Green said that as far as he knows, very few dermatologists

performsclerotherapy on facial veins. " The message is that this is a

safe and effective option for facial veins for dermatologists who are

experienced with sclerotherapy and who understand the venous anatomy

on the face.

Mitchel P. Goldman, M.D., Dermatology/Cosmetic Laser Associates of

San Diego, applied the technique to a variety of unsightly veins on

the hands, with few side effects (one patient had swelling) or

chances of recurrence.

His study evaluated patients treated for prominent veins on both

hands using sclerotherapy with a detergent sclerosant at various

concentrations between 1 percent and 3 percent. During a follow-up

period from one to 6.6 years, patients had a mean improvement of 97.8

percent; all sites improved at least 90 percent, he reported.