Explanation

Sclerotherapy is when a doctor injects some medicine into your blood vessels or lymph vessels to make them shrink. You may need sclerotherapy if your blood or lymphatic vessels didn't form properly before you were born. When this happens it's called a vascular malformation. They usually grow as you grow, and they don't go away without treatment. Most of the time they are noticed when you are young, but sometimes they remain unnoticed until you are a teenager or even an adult.

Why do I need one?

These vascular malformations need to be treated because they can cause pain, the breakdown of your skin, the tissues in your body to grow more than they should, and even heart failure. Adults sometimes have sclerotherapy to treat varicose and spider veins, which can hurt a lot.

What happens before I have it?

You will need to go to the Radiology Department in a hospital to have your sclerotherapy procedure.

Before you go, make sure you don't put any lotion or cream on your skin. When you arrive, your doctor will come and talk to you about the procedure. It's important that you tell your doctor about any allergies you know you have and any medicines that you are taking. It's always good to mention any illness you have or have had in the past as well.

How is it done?

Firstly, a nurse will give you an intravenous line (also called a drip) so that you can have medicines easily. Then a doctor will give you a general anaesthetic so that you are completely asleep. Your doctor will then use a thin needle to inject a contrast dye into your vessels so that they can see them all easily. Then he or she will inject the medicine directly into your blood or lymphatic vessels. The medicine makes the vessels that are causing you problems to shrink and disappear.

Sclerotherapy usually lasts for between 30 minutes and 1 hour.

Will it hurt?

Sclerotherapy won't hurt when you have it done because you will have a general anaesthetic and will be asleep. The areas on your skin where your doctor injects the medicine might hurt a bit and swell up or look bruised for up to 10 days after the sclerotherapy procedure. Your doctor will usually give you some pain killers to help if it hurts for a few days after your sclerotherapy.

What happens next?

When you wake up the nurse will give you some medicines and fluids through your drip so that it doesn't hurt and so you don't get dehydrated.

If you are feeling well, you can go home a few hours after your sclerotherapy. Make sure that someone is there to take you home afterwards. It can be dangerous if you try to go home by yourself even if you only live a short distance away. The anaesthetic might make you feel very sleepy for up to a day afterwards, so make sure you take it easy - it's not a good idea to do things like riding your bike!

You will be able to go back to school about a week after having your sclerotherapy. Make the most of the week off and watch lots of cool movies!

Your doctor will probably want to see you again to check that you are healing well. It's possible that you will need more sclerotherapy sessions but your doctor will let you know if you do and make another appointment for you.

What if I have any other questions?

If you have any other questions, you can ask your doctor, or chat to other people about sclerotherapy in the Medikidz forums and virtual world, Mediland.