Endovascular Treatment of Varicose Veins

Within the past 5 years, radiofrequency ablation and endovenous laser treatment have been introduced as important new endovenous ablative techniques for the minimally invasive treatment of superficial venous reflux and varicose veins. Although sclerotherapy has been a well-established technique for spider telangectasia, recent reports have documented that administration of aerated or foamed sclerosants provides an excellent cost-effective option for treatment of varicose veins. This report reviews the indications for these minimally invasive techniques, the technical aspects of these approaches, and describes in detail the short and long-term success rates. To date, results of minimally invasive therapies are equivalent to or surpass those of surgical vein stripping, while offering dramatically reduced recovery time and complication rates.