Treatment of varicose veins with steam: PROMs analysis
Affiliations: 1. Vascular Surgery, Hospital Narciso Ferreira, Riba de Ave, Portugal. 2. General Surgery, Hospital Narciso
Ferreira, Riba de Ave, Portugal
The aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy and safety of steam thermal ablation in lower-extremity varicose vein treatment.
Adults with varicose veins of clinical grade C2 to C6 according to the clinical-etiological-anatomical-pathophysiological (CEAP) classification, treated with steam between 2020 and 2022, were enrolled in the study.
Primary outcomes were treatment success: vein obliteration at 52 weeks and changes in venous clinical severity score (VCSS) at 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes were pain, satisfaction with treatment, and days lost from daily activities, changes in Aberdeen Varicose Vein Questionnaire (AVVQ) and EQ-5D scores after 12 weeks, and postoperative complications.
Of the 40 patients treated, 22 were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 47.1 years old; 77.3% of the patients were women. Ninety-one percent of the patients were C3 or C4.
A total of 29 procedures were performed: 26 great saphenous veins (GSVs) and 3 small saphenous veins (SSVs).
Changes in VCSS after 12 weeks were -5.3; in AVVQ after 12 weeks were -5.2; and in EQ-5D after 12 weeks were -1. (Table I) The interventional treatment in this population was effective in reducing VCSS, AVVQ, and EQ-5D scores at 3 weeks (P<0.001).
Table I. Steam thermal ablation in lower-extremity varicose vein treatment; data from study population. GSV, great saphenous vein; IQR, interquartile range; SD, standard deviation; SSV, small saphenous vein.
Steam ablation is a thermal endovascular technique that is effective and safe. The research on this technique should be continued in order to confirm these results, and comparison with other techniques is also important in order to be more widely used.
