What types of varicose veins are there?

At one end of the spectrum small spider veins are the smallest varicose veins. These are often of most concern to women and can occur anywhere on the leg, but are very often on the inside of the knee and outer thigh. Venulectasias are slightly larger veins which occur in groups. They often occur with spider veins.

Just underneath the surface there may be varicose reticular veins, larger vessels which are dark blue in colour and close to the surface. They can sometimes appear to join together to form a stream or river travelling down the leg. It is important to treat these vessels as well as the spider veins themselves if long term improvement in the spider veins is to be expected.

Next up in diameter are what most people would call varicose veins. They can be either blue in colour if close to the skin or may appear to be of normal colour.

Large varicose veins are the larger ropey ones that can be seen from a few metres away.They often extend from the groin to and below the knee or behind the knee. These largest veins can give rise to back pressure problems on smaller veins and a solution to this abnormal flow must be found in order to make the leg look better and prevent the diseases that backflow and back pressure can cause.

Types of Varicose Veins - before and after sclerotherapy

Examples

Spider Veins and venulectasias before and after injection

Small varicose vein behind the knee.

Large ropey varicose vein at the front of the thigh

Though a long way from the groin, this vessel is due to incompetence of the largest vein in the leg ( the great saphenous vein) right at the top of the leg.Successful treatment must treat the problem at the source.

A collection of spider veins and venulectasias.

Large ropey veins behind the knee can have a number of causes.

All of the " before and after" images used on this page have not been manipulated or enhanced in any way. There is no guarantee that other people will experience similar results to those shown here.

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