Microfoam therapy

Discover how you can successfully treat and remove spider veins and varicose veins in Berlin. Find out more about the causes, risk factors and prevention options for these small, visible veins under the skin. Our experts at the Vein Center Berlin offer comprehensive advice and state-of-the-art treatment methods to improve your vein health and alleviate symptoms. Make an appointment today and get professional advice!

venaziel untersuchung krampfadern mikroschaum berlin Germany

Medically tested by:

Dr. Hamidreza Mahoozi, FEBTS, FCCP

First publication:

July 4, 2024

Updated:

January 30, 2025

Microfoam (or varixfoaming) treatment

Microfoam therapy / vein sclerotherapy – is a method of treating varicose veins that is several hundred years old.

Varicose veins are dilated or congested veins (known as varices in technical jargon).
A typical distinguishing feature are snake- or branch-shaped bulges that stand out clearly from the skin, often with nodules.
Varicose veins mainly appear on the legs.
This is because the veins in the legs have to work hardest against gravity to pump the blood to the heart.

In rare cases, however, they can also occur on other parts of the body. Varicose veins are not only a visual problem, they can also cause heavy and painful legs as well as secondary diseases. This makes it all the more important to recognize and treat them at an early stage.

Erfahren Sie mehr über unsere modernen Methoden zur Behandlung von Krampfadern in Berlin, einschließlich VenaSeal, Lasertherapie und Mikroschaum-Therapie

Sclerotherapy of varicose veins with microfoam

Substances that are intended to irritate and deliberately damage the vein wall are injected into the vessel during sclerotherapy. This leads to occlusion (thrombosis) or direct adhesion of the vessel walls. For some years now, the closure of veins has not only been practiced by injecting liquid sclerosing agents, but increasingly by using foam or “microfoam”.

The sclerosing agent we use is the only approved medication with the highest effectiveness and the lowest complication rate in the sclerotherapy of varicose veins. The product is an alcohol-based medication in various concentrations from 0.25% to 3%. The larger the diameter of the vein to be treated, the higher the concentration of the drug required. Using a small cannula, a specially manufactured microfoam (the sclerosing agent is foamed with air) is inserted into the diseased vein under ultrasound guidance.

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This method allows the amount of sclerosing agent to be precisely controlled. This means that the closure result is significantly better than after the traditional liquid sclerotherapy or the saline sclerotherapy repeatedly described in some media, which has a success rate of only 13%.

In the meantime, your Venenzentrum Berlin is also working on refining the method by adding sterile adhesive substances. On the one hand, these increase the effectiveness, on the other hand they reduce the formation of pigmentation. To further improve the results after treatment, patients should wear appropriate class II compression stockings during the day for 10-14 days afterwards.

Daily showers, sports and any work activities are possible without restrictions. As a rule, all Varicose veins in Berlin can be sclerosed with microfoam.

venaziel untersuchung krampfadern mikroschaum berlin Germany

Complications and prevention after sclerotherapy of varicose veins

After every treatment (stripping, radio wave, laser, microfoam) of varicose veins, there is the possibility of recurrence, recurrent varicose veins. The duration depends on the individual patient and the accuracy of the clarification and also the method used for the initial procedure. It is therefore important to have regular check-ups every one to two years, even after sclerotherapy, and to take preventive measures (sufficient exercise and endurance sports such as jogging, cycling or swimming).

One of the most common complications after sclerotherapy of a varicose vein is the development of brownish spots and hardening in the course of the former vein. This is a consequence of the sclerotherapy and can last for several weeks. Other theoretical consequences are the development of a deep vein thrombosis (risk less than 1 percent!) or the development of inflammation in the area of the treated vein.

Ciliated scotomas or bronchospasms occurred in 0.21% of cases. For migraine patients, in addition to precise treatment planning, it is essential to adhere strictly to the prescribed amounts of foam. The same applies to patients who have a short-circuit connection between the left and right atrium. However, treatment with anticoagulant medication is possible. Foam sclerotherapy is not used during pregnancy.

Vascular weakness is often hereditary. Other factors that have a negative effect on blood circulation can also promote the development of varicose veins. These include, for example, working in a standing or sitting position, obesity, nicotine consumption, pregnancy or hormonal therapy.

phlebogoe performing an ultrasound on the patient for spider vein diagnosis berlin clinic

Advantages of the microfoam application

  1. Fully outpatient with high patient comfort
  2. incision- and anesthesia-free
  3. Particularly gentle (in contrast to surgical procedures, microfoam therapy in Berlin leaves no scars)
  4. Almost painless (apart from a short puncture)
  5. Effective and fast-acting
  6. with a significantly lower risk potential
  7. Incapacity to work is not to be expected in most cases
  8. cost-effective

Together with the well-known methods of endovenous radio wave/laser therapy and adhesion using VenaSeal (vein glue), foam sclerotherapy is another simple and gentle method.