Sclerotherapy in Beirut

What the injection actually does

A sclerosant is a solution that deliberately irritates the inner lining of a vein. The lining swells and sticks together, the vein seals along its length, and blood immediately diverts into neighbouring healthy veins. Over the following weeks the sealed vein is broken down and absorbed by the body, and it fades from the surface. Nothing is removed and nothing is cut.

Foam sclerotherapy is the same principle with more reach. Turning the agent into a foam displaces the blood inside the vein and keeps the medicine in contact with the wall for longer, which is what allows larger veins to be treated by injection rather than by an operation.

What a session is like

1. The leg is scanned by duplex ultrasound so the injection targets the vein that is actually feeding the problem.
2. The area is cleaned. A very fine needle is used — the sensation most patients report is a brief sting.
3. Several veins are usually treated in the same sitting.
4. A compression stocking goes on before you stand up, and stays on as instructed.
5. You walk out. Normal walking the same day is encouraged, not restricted.

What to expect afterwards

The treated veins usually look darker before they look better. That is expected: it is the sealed vein still sitting under the skin before the body clears it. Mild bruising along the treated line is normal for one to two weeks. Spider veins generally clear over roughly four weeks; larger veins take longer, because there is more for the body to reabsorb. Aching and heaviness often ease well before the appearance changes.

More than one session is common, and it is not a sign that anything went wrong. Veins are treated in stages, deepest problem first.

What sclerotherapy will not do

This is where an honest answer matters more than a persuasive one. Injection treatment is not the right tool for every leg. A large, failed trunk vein under high pressure will often reopen if treated by injection alone — that vein needs endovenous laser first, and the surface veins are then tidied by injection afterwards. Treating the surface while ignoring the source is the most common reason people arrive here having already been treated somewhere else without lasting result.

It is also worth stating plainly: no cream, spray or supplement can close a damaged vein. Products sold online promising to remove varicose veins do not work, and the months spent on them are months the vein spends getting worse.

Who it suits

Sclerotherapy suits spider veins, reticular veins and small to medium varicose veins, and it is frequently the finishing step after a larger vein has been closed. Whether it is right for your leg is a scan question, not a photograph question — which is why the scan comes first.