Sclerotherapy used in treatment of varicose veins

Sclerotherapy making a trend in the health care industries. Since Sclerotherapy is a form of minimally invasive procedure, it is preferred by both doctors and patients. It is extensively used to treat the problems related to blood vessels and lymphatic vessels such as varicose veins, spider veins, etc.

There are many factors that are leading to increasing cases of varicose veins and other such problems that include excess weight, heredity, aging, and some professions that require a prolonged period of sitting. According to the Society of Vascular Surgery, nearly 33.0% of women and 17.0% of men suffers from telangiectasias and varicose veins in developed countries. So all this factors are driving the adoption of sclerotherapy in the healthcare sector.

Let’s understand what is Sclerotherapy?

Sclerotherapy is a type of medical treatment. It is a minimally invasive procedure that is used to treat blood vessel or vascular deformities and also any malformations of the lymphatic system. In adults, sclerotherapy is also used to treat spider veins, hemorrhoids, and smaller varicose veins. This is done with the help of detergents.

Working principle of sclerotherapy

In Sclerotherapy, a very fine and thin injection needle is used to inject a solution. This procedure doesn’t require anesthesia. Medicine solutions that are introduced into the vessels result in their shrinking. This solution is injected into small varicose veins in the legs in order to treat them, improve the appearance of spider veins, and get rid of related symptoms such as burning, aching, swelling, and cramping.

Advantages of sclerotherapy

• It is a simple treatment procedure.
• It is very safe and there are very few risks associated with it.
• It is less invasive.
• The treatment doesn’t require anesthesia and hospitalization.
• It requires less recovery time. Patients can return to normal daily routines within 2-3 days.

Detergents that are used in sclerotherapy

Detergents are used in sclerotherapy as sclerosing agents. Especially for the treatment of spider telangiectasias, detergents are used in different concentrations. The detergents that are commonly used are Sodium Morrhuate (SM), Ethanolamine Oleate (EO), Sodium Tetradecyl Sulphate (Sotradecol), Polidocanol, and Scleremo.

Role of the detergents in the treatment procedure

Detergents work on the principle of protein denaturation. Either it causes endothelial damage or it desquamation of endothelial cells in the plague. Injecting sclerosing solutions in the defected vein causes immediate shrinkage of the target veins. Sometimes these detergents have toxic effects on the blood components, so they must be FDA approved.

Different types of sclerotherapy

The introduction of foam sclerotherapy and ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy has allowed practitioners to adopt these procedures for the painful and underlying veins with accuracy and care.

Liquid sclerotherapy

Liquid sclerotherapy is a technique in which chemical irritants are injected directly into the affected vein. These substances block the vein and circulate it around the treated vein. It is mostly used to treat large varicose veins.

Foam sclerotherapy

In this technique, a foamed sclerosant drug is injecting into the blood vessels. This procedure involves syringes one to inject the drug and the other to inject air in the blood vessels. The mixed sclerosant drug with air increases the surface areas of the drug. Microfoam Sclerotherapy is along with ultrasound has been proved to be more effective. Foam sclerotherapy is highly efficacious than liquid sclerotherapy.

Ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy

In Ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy, in order to visualize the underlying veins, ultrasound is used by the physician for delivering and monitoring the injection. This means the whole procedure takes place under the guidance of ultrasound.

Trends in sclerotherapy

The major advancements have been made in sclerosing solutions, and endovascular RF and laser procedures, and they have brought a revolution in the healthcare industry. Nowadays, laser treatments are used to treat varicose veins. In this procedure, a laser fiber is passed through the catheter into the vein. Since the laser is less painful and also this treatment has lesser recovery time. So it is expected that this treatment procedure will gain the attention of the people from the healthcare industry.

The bigger picture

The Sclerotherapy Market has been showing a rapid growth due to the fact that geriatric population is growing and there are increased incidences of thrombotic disorders in this group of population. The blood vessel or vascular deformities are common in old age people.

Minimally invasive treatments are extremely effective and safe if compared to traditional surgical stripping. Most of the patients prefer to go with sclerotherapy which is less invasive. And this is boosting the demand in the market.

Besides all these, increased awareness, and development in the evolving markets produce numerous opportunities in the market of varicose vein treatment. Other factors such as improvement in patient reliability and compliance, growing healthcare expenditure, and rapid growth in the aging population.