Treatment of varicose long saphenous veins with sclerosant in microfoam form:: Long-term outcomes

Objective: To determine whether the injection of sclerosant in microfoam form offers a clear alternative to surgery in large varices of the lower extremities. Design: Retrospective observational follow-up study (3-6 years). Patients: Five hundred lower limbs in which pretreatment duplex ultrasound demonstrated insufficiency of sapheno-femoral junctions (diameters 9-32 mm) and long saphenous veins. Main outcome measure: Obliteration and subsequent disappearance of treated veins. Results: After greater than or equal to 3 years follow-up, 81% of treated varicose long saphenous veins were obliterated and 96.5% of superficial branches disappeared. The obliteration of saphenous veins required one injection in 86%, two in 10.5% and three in 3.5% of cases. There were no serious complications such as deep vein thrombosis pulmonary embolism. Conclusion: The quality and stability of outcomes and ease of repeat treatments when required may make sclerotherapy with microfoam a therapeutic approach of choice for the functional and anatomical elimination of extensive pathological venous areas.