Specialist Vein Health
If you are wondering about your varicose veins or spider veins, make that appointment with Specialist Vein Health today and put your mind at rest.
Do you have spider veins? Spider veins can often be uncomfortable and annoying to some people. Come and talk to one of our team members for a consultation regarding your spider veins.
Spider veins are clusters of veins often in the shape of a spider web pattern, hence the name. They are close to the surface of the skin and tend to be very visible, red, black, blue or purple in colour. Spider veins tend to be found on your face and legs. Sometimes we recommend an ultrasound scan to further investigate the cause of your leg spider veins, as you can have underlining venous incompetency (better known as varicose veins).
Spider veins are like varicose veins but a lot smaller. The valves inside the tiny veins are not working properly allowing blood to backflow, pool or burst the vessel – which becomes visible under your skin. At SVH we offer an easy, needless solution to reduce, soften and fade facial and leg spider veins.
At Specialist Vein Health, we offer two main treatments for spider veins, these are sclerotherapy and aesthetic laser treatment.
Sclerotherapy is a treatment that intentionally damages the lining of spider veins by injecting a chemical, called a sclerosant, into the vein and inducing a chemical phlebitis or inflammation. By doing this and then applying pressure the vein walls stick together. The vein can then no longer fill with blood and so it is obliterated. The compression applied after the injection is an essential part of the therapy.
Aesthetic laser treatment for spider veins is a treatment that uses laser light directed at the spider veins to destroy the veins without damaging your skin. Sometimes small spider veins will disappear immediately after being treated, while large spider veins may take one to three months before they disappear completely. To get complete clearing of your spider veins, you may be required to have multiple treatments.
Dr Wicks grew up in Wellington. His parents moved to New Zealand from Sri Lanka. His father was a GP in Lower Hutt for 40 years. Education was an important priority in the Wicks household and both Dr Wicks’ brothers are also surgeons in Wellington. Dr Wicks graduated from the University of Otago, following this he worked as a house surgeon in Wellington and Auckland. Dr Wicks then pursued a fellowship in General Surgery followed by a fellowship in Vascular Surgery. The training for both fellowships took him all around New Zealand and Australia. Dr Wicks is currently the President of the Vascular Society of New Zealand (VSNZ) and a member of the executive of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Vascular Surgery (ANZSVS). He is a Clinical Senior Lecturer, Department of Surgery & Anaesthesia, University of Otago, Wellington and from January 2020 he is the Capital and Coast District Health Board’s Vascular Clinical Leader.
Dr Wicks is a busy husband and father and enjoys spending time with his family, playing sports and the piano.
Dr Lupe was born and raised in Auckland. Her parents moved from Tonga in the 1960s and placed a high priority on their children obtaining a quality education. This laid the foundation for a career in medicine, and Dr Lupe followed in the footsteps of her grandfather, choosing surgery as a career. Dr Lupe and her younger sister are doctors. Dr Lupe studied medicine at Auckland’s medical school. Dr Lupe is the only female Vascular & Endovascular surgeon in New Zealand and the only Polynesian Vascular surgeon in the whole of Australasia. Dr Lupe was a house surgeon throughout hospitals in Auckland followed by Vascular Surgery training which took her throughout New Zealand and Australia. Dr Lupe is a Board Member of the Pasifika Medical Association; Clinical Senior Lecturer, Department of Surgery & Anaesthesia, University of Otago, Wellington and Provocational Educational Supervisory for the Medical Council of New Zealand. She is also a Mentor for Wāhine Connect, a national mentoring programme to support women in the New Zealand health sector.
Dr Lupe maintains a balanced life as a married mother of one, by spending time in the great outdoors with her friends and family.
Our vein specialists in Wellington use the most advanced and effective procedures to treat your spider veins. This mean that you receive:
Procedures are walk-in-walk-out and you are in experienced, safe hands. No referral is needed for treatment, contact us now.