MODIFIED RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION TECHNIQUE IN VARICOSE VEIN TREATMENT

Abstract

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Aim. Of this research is to improve the results of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for patients with varicose veins (VV), to optimise the number of cycles on different segments of the pathologically changed vein. Material and Methods. The study involved 74 people, both sexes (40% women, 60% men), ages from 22 to 83 years. The clinical stage of the disease was determined by C-component of the international CEAP classification (1994): 80% - C2, 16% - C3, 4% - C4. All patients underwent preoperative ultrasound examination to determine the presence of veno-venous reflux, to evaluate the diameter of the target great saphenous vein (GSV). According to the standard operation protocol of the VNUS ClosureFast device (VNUS Medical Technologies, San Jose, California), two cycles of treatment are applied on the vein segment closest to the saphenofemoral junction and one for each other target vein segment. However, if the diameter of the GSV is more than 10 mm and up to 12 mm two cycles of treatment are not enough. 20.3% (n=15) patients underwent modified RFA technique: three cycles of treatment for proximal (sapheno-femoral) segment, two cycles for the next 7-cm segments and one cycle for the distal segment. Results and Discussion. If the diameter of the GSV is more than 10 mm and up to 12 mm the usage of multicycle RFA is justified. Conclusions. The RFA method is effective in VV treatment of the lower limbs. The number of cycles applied to the target vein segment depends on the diameter of the latter.