Korean J Vasc Endovasc Surg.  2013 Aug;29(3):91-97. 10.5758/kjves.2013.29.3.91.

The Clinical Outcomes of Endovenous Radiofrequency Ablation of Varicose Veins: Results from the Korean Radiofrequency Ablation Registry

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Surgery, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3Department of Surgery, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. sboy5240@gmail.com
  • 4Department of Surgery, Daegu Catholic University Hospital, Daegu, Korea.
  • 5Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been used as an alternative to conventional high ligation and stripping surgery for the treatment of saphenous vein insufficiency. A Korean clinical registry was established in 2012. The purpose of our study is to report the clinical outcomes of RFA from the Korean RFA Registry.
METHODS
Data were collected in a multicenter, retrospective registry. All patients were treated before March 31, 2013. The indication for RFA was clinical, etiology, anatomy, and pathophysiology (CEAP) clinical class C2-C6 and patients with disease-associated symptoms, complications, or cosmetic concerns. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcomes, such as CEAP score, venous clinical severity score (VCSS), and quality of life (QoL) score after RFA using ClosureFAST (Covidien) catheter. The paired and independent t-test using IBM SPSS ver. 19.0 (IBM Co.) was used for the statistical analysis to evaluate the clinical improvement after treatment.
RESULTS
There were 698 patients (890 limbs) treated with RFA at 5 centers in Korea. The average age was 53.7+/-12.0 years (range, 19 to 89 years) with a body mass index of 23.1+/-2.8 kg/m2, 58.2% of the patients were female. All saphenous veins with reflux > or =0.5 seconds were ablated simultaneously. The most common complication was ecchymosis, which occurred in 41 patients (5.9%). All clinical parameters were significantly improved. At the mean follow-up of 13.9 months, the occlusion rate was 94.6% in great saphenous vein and 94.5% in small saphenous vein.
CONCLUSION
RFA is an effective modality in the treatment of saphenous vein insufficiency. The clinical parameters including CEAP class, VCSS and QoL score showed significant improvement after RFA.

Keyword

Varicose veins; Catheter ablation; Radiofrequency; Ultrasonography

MeSH Terms

Body Mass Index
Catheter Ablation
Catheters
Ecchymosis
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Korea
Ligation
Quality of Life
Retrospective Studies
Saphenous Vein
Varicose Veins
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