Treating what you can see works better when someone has looked at what you cannot.
Ultrasound offers a non-invasive, radiation-free view beneath the skin. In the legs it is used to evaluate the superficial veins, and — where appropriate — to identify the feeder and reticular veins that supply the surface vessels patients actually notice. What the scan shows is then used to build a personalized plan for cosmetic vein treatment.
Dr. Ivy Lawson is double board-certified in vascular and interventional radiology. Vascular ultrasound is not a device she added to an aesthetics menu; it is the imaging she trained in and used in hospital practice. In Cooper City, Davie, Weston and Pembroke Pines, that combination is unusual — most cosmetic vein treatment in the area is offered without a physician who can perform and interpret the study.
Surface spider veins are frequently the visible end of something larger. Treating the visible vessel without understanding what supplies it is treating one part of a pattern. Mapping the pattern first means the plan can address the sequence rather than the symptom, and it sets a realistic expectation of how many sessions the plan is likely to involve.
It also sorts the cosmetic from the medical. Not every leg vein finding is a cosmetic problem. Where the scan suggests a concern that sits outside cosmetic treatment, Dr. Lawson will say so and recommend referral or additional medical evaluation rather than proceeding.
The scan is non-invasive. A small amount of gel is applied and the probe is passed over the skin — nothing is injected, and there is no radiation. Dr. Lawson performs the study and reads it herself, and talks you through what is on the screen while you are there. If treatment is appropriate, you leave with a plan rather than a quote.
Vein imaging is an assessment, not a treatment. What follows depends on what the scan shows — most often spider vein treatment or sclerotherapy, planned around the mapped pattern. Patients treating the face and the legs in the same period often combine it with facial ultrasound, and membership pricing applies to staged treatment plans.
If you want the reasoning behind working this way, read why we use ultrasound.
Patients seeking evaluation before spider vein treatment, patients who have had cosmetic vein treatment elsewhere without a clear plan, and patients who would rather know what is under the surface before committing to a course of sessions may all benefit from ultrasound assessment when clinically appropriate.
A non-invasive scan of the superficial veins in the legs, using sound waves and a small amount of gel on the skin. It shows where the veins run and how they connect, and it is used to plan cosmetic vein treatment.
Visible spider veins are often supplied by larger veins beneath the surface. Imaging can identify feeder and reticular veins when appropriate, so treatment is planned around the pattern rather than around only what can be seen from the outside.
No. The probe rests on the skin with a small amount of gel. Nothing is injected, and ultrasound does not use radiation.
No. Ultrasound is used selectively, most often at the assessment stage or when the pattern of veins or a previous result suggests that imaging would change the plan.
No. Imaging is an assessment. Sclerotherapy or other cosmetic vein treatment is planned from what the scan shows and booked separately.
Dr. Lawson will explain the findings and, where appropriate, recommend referral or additional medical evaluation before any cosmetic treatment is considered.
Book a vein ultrasound with Dr. Ivy Lawson and plan cosmetic vein treatment around what is actually there.
Reviewed by Ivy Lawson, MD · Physician — Vascular & Interventional Radiology · Last reviewed September 2026. About Dr. Lawson
