Are there side effects to sclerotherapy?
Even with a highly experienced physician performing the treatment, there are some possible side effects. They inlude: • Stinging or pain at the sites of injection, swelling of the ankles or feet or muscle cramps. Muscle cramps almost always occur when the injection takes place in the ankle area. These usually go away within 10 to 15 minutes after injection. • Bruises at the site where the needle went into the skin. These will disappear in a few weeks and are probably related to the thinness of blood vessel walls. • Allergic reactions to certain sclerosing solutions. Although such reactions can be serious, and require immediate injections of epinephrine. Less serious reactions are treated with antihistamines. • Inflammation of treated blood vessels. This is very unusual but when it occurs it is treated with medication such as aspirin, compression, antibiotics or heat. • Lumps in injected vessels, particularly larger ones, may develop. This is coagulated blood but is not dangerous. The d
