The safety and efficacy of transluminal injection of foam sclerotherapy after endovenous thermal ablation in varicose veins with large trunk: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract: CONTEXT: Closure rate of endovenous thermal ablation is limited by the trunk diameter of great saphenous vein. AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of transluminal injection of foam sclerotherapy (TLFS) after thermal ablation in improving the closure rate of primary varicose veins with large trunk. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study with 170 patients (189 legs), the outcomes of varicose veins patients treated with thermal ablation plus injection of sclerotherapy were compared with those treated with thermal ablation only. The primary outcome of this study was the rate of ablated segment closure after surgery and during patient follow-up. Propensity score matching model was used to eliminate the bias. RESULTS: After matching, 75 legs (65 patients) from the thermal ablation plus sclerotherapy group and 71 legs (66 patients) from the thermal ablation only group were further analyzed. The closure rate of the thermal ablation plus sclerotherapy group was 97.3%, which was significantly higher than that of the thermal ablation only group (87.3%, P = 0.048), and the closure rate of the thermal ablation plus sclerotherapy group remained higher during 1-year follow-up. No serious complications were observed in groups. CONCLUSIONS: TLFS can improve the efficacy of thermal ablation, increasing the closure rate of the ablation segment, and thus improving the symptoms.