Patient Resources

Before your sclerotherapy appointment, you should avoid medications or supplements that make you bruise (see the list above), air travel 36 hours prior to treatment, and shaving your legs the day of treatment. You should also notify the office if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding and bring one or two pairs of comfortable support hose to your appointment.

After sclerotherapy, leave the cotton balls and tape on for three hours unless you experience an itchy reaction. Once you’ve removed the tape, wear support hose daily for the next two weeks except when showering and sleeping. For the next three to four days, you should also avoid:

• Shaving your legs
• Taking blood thinners, unless required for medical reasons
• Taking hot baths or Jacuzzis to avoid dilating veins
• Sun exposure until the treated areas appear normal

During your recovery, it’s normal to experience mild redness, bruising, tenderness, itching, or burning. It’s also common for veins to look darker or redder for 2-4 weeks after treatment, as full healing and results can take up to eight weeks. Report painful areas and expanding redness or blistering to your dermatologist.

BELKYRA™ is an injectable that reduces fat around the chin, neck, and jawline to improve your profile without surgery. This safe treatment can be completed in 15-20 minutes at our clinic, and typically requires a series of two to four sessions.

Directly after receiving BELKYRA™, you’ll feel a slight burning sensation for 15-30 minutes. It’s also normal — and desired — to experience swelling around the treated area, as more swelling leads to better results. To reduce potential bruising, please read our guidelines above.

To reduce tenderness and swelling, we provide an ice pack and recommend taking Tylenol if needed. You can start gently massaging the treated area two weeks after treatment to optimize healing and results. For maximum results, we suggest waiting two to three months between BELKYRA™ sessions.

For a wound with stiches:

• Keep the wound dry for 24 hours. Then, you may remove the bandage and apply fresh Vaseline or Polysporin ointment twice a day with a fresh bandage until the sutures are removed.
• You can take short showers, but must change the bandage and reapply ointment if it gets wet. Try not to bathe or swim for three to four days following your treatment to avoid full water immersion.
• On the day of your procedure, we’ll work with you to determine whether our dermatologists will remove the stitches or if you’ll plan for your family doctor or walk-in clinic to do so. Make sure facial stitches are removed in seven days and body stitches are removed in 7-14 days.
• Once the sutures are removed, apply sunscreen to your scars before going outside. Following your procedure, it’s normal for your scars to have redness, but it should slowly fade over 6-12 months.

For a wound without stiches:

• Keep the wound dry for 24 hours after the procedure. After 24 hours, remove the bandage and apply fresh Vaseline or Polysporin ointment twice daily with a fresh bandage until the scab heals in about two weeks.
• Short showers are acceptable, but you should avoid bathing or swimming for three to four days. After showering or getting wet, change the bandage and reapply ointment. You should also apply sunscreen to the scar before going outdoors.

Apply Vaseline or Polysporin ointment twice daily and avoid picking the scabs, as they will naturally crust over and fall off within 7-14 days. During the healing phase, you should avoid excessive sun exposure, but can wear sunscreen on your treatment sites if it does not sting or burn.

Skin lesion consultations are covered by OHIP and can be arranged once your physician faxes a referral to our office. The removal of harmful skin lesions like actinic keratosis and cancerous moles is also covered, but the removal of benign lesions like skin tags, small cysts, and normal moles is not.