Outcome Measures of In-Office Endovenous Radiofrequency Treatment of Varicose Vein Feasibility

Abstract

RFA is a relatively new treatment, approved by the FDA in 1999 and is a minimally invasive intervention that has become one of the most common alternatives due to its many advantages, including decreased pain, less morbidity, shorter hospital stay and faster return to work. We retrospectively analyzed a total of 503 limbs submitted for surgical interventions for VVs using the RFA, combined or not with surgical phlebectomies and sclerotherapy, in our institution between April 2012 and December 2020. The technical success was 99.8%, as in one case the RFA catheter arrested at the first third of the thigh due to the tortuosity of the vessel. On the first post-operative day, the mean VAS scale was 0.32 ± 0.56 (0–2). Perioperative complications occurred in 77 cases (15.3%): intraoperative pain in 24 cases, in nine cases associated with vagal syndrome, superficial hematoma in 30 cases, EHIT in seven cases, phlebitis in 14 cases and paresthesia in two cases. RFA procedures had been shown to be cost-effective therapeutic options in adult patients requiring treatment due to the incompetence of the GSV. In our study, we highlighted that this technique is feasible as an ambulatory procedure; it improves quality of life and symptoms in the majority of patients with varicose veins, with a rapid return to normal life and work activities.

Keywords

• radiofrequency ablation
• varicose veins
• deep vein thrombosis