The short version
The standard treatment for leg spider veins, ahead of lasers. Reliable in trained hands, with cosmetic side effects that are common and serious ones that are rare.
What the cost figure means
No reliable national estimate. Priced per session; several sessions are common. Cosmetic sclerotherapy is self-pay; treatment of symptomatic veins may involve insurance after a vascular evaluation. No society publishes an average.
Advertised prices on file
$225–$900 per session
Spider-vein sessions on two menus, one priced per 15 minutes ($400). ASPS's 2022 fee table put the average at $428.
Read from 2 published U.S. clinic menus on September 1, 2026. A convenience sample, not a national survey: prices vary by city and provider, packages are usually cheaper per session, and menus change without notice.
Total course = per-session fee × planned sessions + consultation + product, cartridge, or serum + anesthesia or facility + prescriptions and aftercare + expected maintenance. Ask for the plan price in writing.
Healing and results timeline
- Appointment
- About 15–45 minutes
- Downtime
- None; compression stockings for days to a week
- Healing
- Treated veins darken and look bruised for 1–2 weeks, then fade over 3–6 weeks. Compression is usually advised.
- Results appear
- Fading over 3–6 weeks per session; series judged at 2–3 months
- Duration and maintenance
- Treated veins are gone; new veins can form over years
Benefits, limitations, and risks
Realistic benefits
- More effective than laser for most leg veins
- Quick office visits
- Can treat feeder veins that lasers miss
Limitations
- Several sessions and compression
- Temporary brown staining is common
- New veins can appear later
Common effects
- Bruising and staining
- Itching or hives at sites
- Matting (fine new vessels)
Serious risks
- Skin ulceration from leakage
- Deep vein thrombosis, rare
- Allergic reaction to the sclerosant
Candidacy and pause signs
Usually considered for: Adults with cosmetic leg spider veins and no untreated varicose vein disease.
You are pregnant, have a clotting disorder or history of DVT, an active infection, or the provider has not asked about larger varicose veins or reflux.
Operator, setting, and regulation
Who performs it in the U.S.: Dermatologists, vascular specialists, and trained nurses under physician oversight. Ask whether an ultrasound evaluation is needed first.
Regulatory status: Sclerosants are FDA-approved prescription drugs for specific vein sizes; the procedure itself is practice of medicine.
Rules differ by state and by country. A product approved in one market may be unapproved in another, and the same device can be used within or outside its cleared indication.
Questions to ask before you pay a deposit
- Do my veins need an ultrasound evaluation before treatment?
- Which sclerosant and concentration, and how many sessions?
- What compression do you recommend afterwards?
Sources on file
These links support the claims above. Reviewed September 1, 2026. Where a figure comes from a survey, the caveat is in the file, not in a footnote.
- American Society for Dermatologic Surgery — sclerotherapy (opens in a new tab)
- American Society for Dermatologic Surgery — leg veins (opens in a new tab)
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons — spider vein treatment (opens in a new tab)
- Vascular 2025 — long-pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG for leg veins: systematic review (PubMed) (opens in a new tab)