Sclerotherapy is an effective minimally invasive procedure which has been used for several decades to treat spider veins and small varicose veins tributaries. Sclerotherapy involves injecting a solution into the varicose vein under direct vision or under ultrasound guidance. The solution irritates the inner layer of vein and cause immediate collapse of the vein. These veins will disappear over time.

Published success rates of sclerotherapy for spider veins and small varicose veins is around 70% after the first year of treatment. Sclerotherapy has several uncommon and rare short term and long-term complications. Immediate adverse reactions are redness, itchiness and minimal inflammation at injection are, these usually last for few minutes to an hour. Bruising and dark discoloration are the other side effects that mostly are self-resolvable within a few weeks. There rare complications which include small blood clots inside the injected vein and tiny skin ulcers that are all manageable in an outpatient setting.