Endovenous laser ablation or radiofrequency ablation for varicose veins: a review

Sushil DAHAL, MBBS; Robin Man KARMACHARYA, MS; Satish VAIDYA, MS; Prasesh DHAKAL, MBBS; Niroj BHANDARI, MBBS; Sahil BADE, MBBS; Sohail BADE, MBBS; Selene POKHAREL, MBBS; Shreeja SHIKHRAKAR, MBBS; Prabha SHRESTHA, MSN; Department of Surgery, Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University Hospital, Kavre, Nepal Abstract Varicose veins are a part of chronic venous insufficiency syndrome, presenting with dilated veins, skin changes, and even ulceration in the lower limbs. Untreated, it can result in many complications and has an impact upon one’s quality of life. Management depends upon the stage and etiology of varicose veins. Conventional vein stripping surgery is now being replaced by…

Full text

Update on treatment methods for telangiectasia

Mesut ENGIN, MD, Assoc Prof; University of Health Sciences, Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Turkey Abstract Telangiectasias make up a heterogeneous group of diseases that can affect various parts of the body in humans. Although generally limited to the face, telangiectasia can cover different parts of the body in various collagen tissue diseases. The appropriate treatment options for telangiectasias are sclerotherapy, laser therapy, thermocoagulation, and microphlebectomy. The purpose of sclerotherapy is to cause endothelial damage by injecting a sclerosing agent into the vascular bed. Agents such as polidocanol, sodium tetradecyl sulfate, hypertonic saline, and…

Full text

Is it essential to treat the AASV during thermal ablation of the GSV?

Anne-Sophie LENSEL, MD; Jean-Luc GERARD, MD; Clinique du Mont-Louis, Paris Clinique Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Paris Abstract Recent decades have experienced the substantial development of endovenous techniques to treat varicose veins. Such techniques are guided by ultrasound through use of increasingly efficient equipment, and operators have become better trained. This, in parallel with the study of cadaver dissections, has led to a marked improvement in the knowledge of vein anatomy in the lower limbs. The treatment of varicose veins has always been known for its risk of recurrence, which can have several origins. The most widely accepted cause right now is recurrence…

Full text

Progress in the management of venous disease during our five decades as surgeons

Peter NEGLÉN, MD, PhD1, Bo EKLÖF, MD, PhD2 1Trimiklini, Cyprus; 2Råå, Sweden Abstract The authors’ experience spans 5 decades of development in the management of venous disease. They describe their journey through the open surgery era; the transforming introduction of duplex ultrasound scanning; the establishment of consensus-driven classification, terminology, and investigatory planning, hugely important for research and patient care; and the emergence of minimally invasive endovascular procedures during the 21st century with greater acceptability by patients, minimal morbidity/ mortality, and wider application than open surgery. The management of patients with venous disease has progressed immensely since the 1960s. Introduction At…

Full text

Cyanoacrylate closure in the treatment of varicose veins – what is the evidence?

Nick MORRISON, MD, FACS, DBVLM Center for Vein Restoration, Phoenix, Arizona, USA Abstract Introduction Cyanoacrylate ablation for incompetent saphenous veins is a recent addition to the armamentarium of venous surgeons. It does not require the instillation of tumescent anesthesia during the procedure, thus reducing patient discomfort, and neither are compression hose necessary after treatment. Early cyanoacrylate ablation trials VenaSeal™ (Medtronic, Minnesota, USA) was the first reported use of a formulation of cyanoacrylate used in the ablation of incompetent saphenous veins. Clinical series and randomized controlled clinical trials demonstrated the safety and efficacy of this ablation method. The VeClose trial compared…

Full text

Is compression necessary after endovenous thermal ablation of varicose veins? Clarifying a (com)pressing matter

Matthew TAN, BSc, MBBS, MRCS, AFHEA; Alun H. DAVIES, MA, DM, DSc, FRCS, FHEA, FEBVS, FLSW, FACPh Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom Abstract Chronic venous disease (CVD) represents a significant impact on patients’ lives with negative financial, social, and health-related quality of life consequences. The gold standard for treatment of varicose veins and CVD is now considered to be endovenous thermal ablation (EVTA). Although compression is widely prescribed for patients post EVTA, there is widespread disagreement on the optimal compression regimen and if compression is even required…

Full text

CHIVA versus ablation

Claude FRANCESCHI, MD Angiologist, Consultant with Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph, Paris, France Abstract CHIVA is the French acronym for Conservatrice et Hémodynamique de l’Insuffisance Veineuse en Ambulatoire, ie, Conservative and Hemodynamic Treatment of Venous Insufficiency in outpatients. Ablation is not conservative, and CHIVA is based on a different hemodynamic approach. It is counterintuitive because it is difficult to imagine that the varicose veins could disappear without ablation either by extraction or by endovenous destruction. This treatment raises scientific questions that require us to revisit our understanding of classical venous pathophysiology in light of what echo-Doppler has contributed to our…

Full text

Management of venous ulceration (interventional treatments) with perspectives from a recent meta-analysis and recommendations

Nicolas NEAUME, MD Clinique Pasteur, Toulouse, France Abstract Venous leg ulcers still affect about 1% of the adult population despite recent advances in chronic venous insufficiency treatment, and they represent a significant public health cost, estimated at between 1% and 2% of the annual health budget of Western European countries. Venous leg ulcers may be treated conservatively, with compression bandaging and wound care, medically, surgically, or with a combination of approaches, depending on the severity of the ulcer and available resources. The randomized trial of early endovenous ablation in venous ulceration demonstrated that early removal of a superficial venous reflux…

Full text

Anticoagulation and interventional treatment of varicose veins

Matthieu JOSNIN, MD Saint Charles Clinic, Interventional Phlebology Unit, La Roche-sur-Yon, France Abstract Venous thromboembolic risk is very low after varicose vein procedures. This risk is often cited as less than 1%; however, studies also show the risk to be highly variable. Overall, literature in the field does not typically conclude thromboprophylaxis to be necessary in low-risk patients, owing to the low incidence of the event studied and the often-insufficient number of patients included. Despite the low incidence, venous thromboembolic risk is important in terms of mortality and morbidity. Varicose veins affect an average of 1 in 3 individuals, and…

Full text

Combination therapy in the treatment of varices

Nicholas H. OSBORNE MD, MS1*; Craig BROWN MD, MS1; Christopher O. AUDU MD, PhD1; Danielle C. SUTZKO MD, MS2; Andrea T. OBI MD1; Thomas W. WAKEFIELD MD1 1Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Michigan Medicine; 2Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham Abstract Background: There is significant variation in the treatment of combined truncal-vein reflux and symptomatic varicosities. We sought to use the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) Varicose Vein Registry (VVR) to explore the contemporary real-world experience of combined ablation and phlebectomy versus ablation alone. Methods: Using the VQI/VVR database, patients…

Full text