ABSTRACT
Objectives: To describe the complications following ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy, and outcomes at 2 and 6 months following treatment.
Methods: Patients with primary or secondary varicose veins and treated with UGFS were followed up at 1 week and 2 months by Duplex Doppler Ultrasound to assess the effectiveness of the procedure and to document the complications.
Results: 117 patients, from the median age group of 47 years (ranging from 18–74 years) were treated; of which 79 were males and 38 were females. 91 of these were cases of primary varicose veins and 26 were of secondary or recurrent varicose veins (post-surgery recurrence in 24 and post-sclerotherapy recurrence in 2).
The complications noted in this study included severe pain at the time of injection (10), vasovagal syncope (1), focal perforator thrombosis (5), local skin ulceration (3), hyperpigmentation (3), ipsilateral inguinal lymphadenopathy (1) and an exacerbation of chicken pox vesicles in the injected leg 3 weeks after injection (1).
During the 2 month follow up 79 legs showed complete thrombosis and 20 had partial thrombosis. Pre-procedure CEAP grading ranged between 1 & 6 with a mean value of 4. Post-procedure CEAP grading ranged between 0 & 6 with a mean value of 3.3. This decrease in mean CEAP was found to be statistically significant (p<0.01). 6 month follow up in 35 legs with complete thrombosis, showed good thrombosis in 31 legs and early recanalization in 4 legs.
Conclusion: UGFS is a simple, cost effective procedure, which leads to significant improvements in clinical symptoms and decreasing morbidity, associated with chronic venous disease.
Keywords: Varicose veins, Ultrasound, Duplex Doppler, Foam sclerotherapy, Sodium Tetra Decyl Sulphate (STDS), Saphenous veins