I wrote this email to a Botox patient of mine asking some general questions regarding vein treatment. I thought I’d share the email here
This is Dr. Calvin Lee responding to your email.
Thank you so much for writing to me. I can’t remember your capillary on the cheek. But I do know that my prices haven’t changed since 2006. Most patients do get away with $50-100 per facial vein lasering visit. I charge $1 per pulse of the laser – per “zap” so to speak. My laser is a 940nm wavelength diode laser and is made by Dornier, based in Germany.
Regarding your question about sunscreen: The sunscreen should have zinc in it. The SPF doesn’t matter as much. But I do care about the zinc. Our office has my approved zinc based sunblocks which cost about $35-50 for a bottle/tube of the sunscreen.
I would like about 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the facial vein lasering for diligent sun-protection with the zinc based sunscreen and perhaps as much sun avoidance as reasonably possible. But the sun – specifically UV-A light is what causes much of the aging and capillaries on the face – thus sunscreen with zinc could be considered all the time.
Of course, it’s my preference that the patient gets the sunscreen from our office so that I can be sure we have the right formulation for adequate UV-A coverage. But there are Zinc based sunblocks in the stores for about $12 per tube/bottle. These tend to be on the thicker/grimy feeling side than the $50 sunblocks. Life guards seem to like the really thick white paste which is available also in the stores – but most of our patients aren’t into that pasty look – but that’s still acceptable.
As for number of visits, most patients need about 3-5 visits for facial capillaries spaced about 2 weeks apart. However, there are some lucky patients who only need one visit.
I hope this info helps and I hope to see you soon!
– Calvin Lee
