Treating Varicose, Spider Veins Without Surgery : Health: Injections followed by compression bandages cost a fraction of the more traditional treatment.

You are looking at your legs one day and notice the beginnings of unsightly varicose or spider veins. “Well,” you might say, “I may have to have surgery on those one of these days.”

But Dr. Terrance Walsh says that is not necessarily the case. All you may need to do is get a few virtually painless injections to make those lumpy veins disappear.

Symptoms include aching, swelling, a sense of heaviness, itching and leg restlessness. Complications range from leg cramps to severe disability.

Walsh said varicose veins are caused by malfunctioning valves which allow blood to be pulled down into a vein and accumulate. Large veins swell and have a bluish hue while smaller ones become thread-like purple lines called spider veins.

“A lot of people don’t know that there is any alternative other than surgery,” said Walsh, head of the Atlanta office of the Vein Clinics of America.

The method Walsh and related clinics use is called refined compression sclerotherapy. It uses the drug Sotradecol and special compression bandages to treat diseases of the veins.

During the procedure, the drug is injected into a varicose vein. The walls of the vein become irritated and fuse to each other, sealing the leaking blood valve. Special compression bandages used in the three- to seven-day treatment speed the fusion.

The clinics claim a success rate of nearly 100% for all patients, including those who have had previous vein surgery. Treatment is performed on an outpatient basis.

Walsh said his clinic charges between $1,000 to $2,500 per leg for the treatment, which is about one-fourth of the cost of traditional surgery to treat varicose and spider veins.

There are a variety of other techniques available for treating vein disorders without surgery. They include laser beams, electrocautery and saline sclerotherapy, in which saline solution is injected into veins.

Dr. Jerry King, an independent Chicago vascular surgeon, said the use of refined compression sclerotherapy “is a very acceptable way” of treating veins as an alternative to surgery.

There are cases, he said, when refined compression sclerotherapy should not be used, such as when veins are ulcerating.

Researchers say varicose veins are largely hereditary but other factors can exacerbate them, such as obesity or standing for long periods of time, increased estrogen levels brought on by pregnancy, menstruation or taking birth control pills.

Prevention strategies include proper nutrition and exercise, avoidance of long-term standing, keeping legs elevated and wearing support stockings, experts say.