[Echo-sclerotherapy in the management of varices of the lower extremities]. FT La sclerosi ecoguidata nel trattamento delle varici degli arti inferiori.

Sclerotherapy has been used with satisfactory results, for several years in the treatment of varicose veins. Nevertheless sometimes sclerosis can be incomplete because of the morphology of lower limbs or because the varicose disease is not clinically evident. In addition, sclerotherapy can give rise to severe complications due to intrarterial or extraluminal injections. In order to exceed this limits, some authors suggested to use a new technique, the echosclerotherapy, which was presented for the first time in Strasburg 1989 by Knight and Vin. Echosclerotherapy is a good help for traditional sclerotherapy, especially when it is applied in the sclerosis of the short saphenous veins, of perforating veins or in unfavourable anatomical situations. From May to November 1993 at the Second Surgical Department of Padua University, 31 patients, 29 women and 3 men, have been treated by echosclerotherapy. 25 patients had great saphenous varicose veins; 3 patients had varices due to perforating veins of the popliteal fossa and 3 patients varices due to Hunter perforating veins. In 48.4% of cases we obtained a complete sclerosis of the vessel; in 38.7% a stump remained near the sapheno-femoral junction of about two centimeters; in one case the treatment was not completed and in one case remained a stump of ten centimeters. Only in two cases Echosclerotherapy was not able to obtain sclerosis. None of the patients had major complications and nobody had deep vein thrombosis. If we consider our results altogether we can say that in 87% of cases we had good results.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)