Why is laser treatment preferable over saline injections?
Treatment of spider veins with a 940 nm pulsed diode laser is an extremely efficient way of removing these unsightly veins. The laser actually passes directly through the skin and spider vein wall to vaporize the blood within the spider vein. This destroys the internal vessel wall, which leads to obliteration of the spider vein. The spider veins turn red and gradually disappear over the next 2-3 weeks. The treatment is well tolerated and results in minimum scarring and discoloration. Saline injections also destroy the internal vessel wall but have a much higher chance of leaving permanent discoloration. I treat many patients who have had saline injections. The majority of these patients prefer the laser treatment.
