title: Foam sclerotherapy for the treatment of superficial venous insufficiency.
abstract: Foam sclerotherapy has been refined over the past decade to become a safe and effective treatment for varicose veins and venous insufficiency. Using duplex ultrasound guidance, it can be used to treat large and small varicosities, saphenous trunks, incompetent perforating veins, and venous stasis ulcerations. Serious complications are rare, and in experienced hands, efficacy rivals that of traditional surgical ligation and stripping. Disadvantages of the technique are the need in many cases for more than one treatment session, and lack of US Food and Drug Administration approval of all currently available sclerosants. Foam sclerotherapy offers advantages of low cost, quick patient recovery, and ease of use; as such, it is an important tool for modern vein treatment.
authors.affiliation: Lake Washington Vascular Surgeons, 1135 116th Avenue NE, Suite 305, Bellevue, WA 98104, USA. drgibson@lkwv.com
authors.forename: Kathleen D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: Brian L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Ferris
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pepper
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous / Q000295:instrumentation; D045423:Microbubbles; D012008:Recurrence; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000601:surgery; D012597:Sclerosing Solutions / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D015911:Sclerotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional; D014647:Varicose Ulcer / Q000601:surgery; D014648:Varicose Veins / Q000601:surgery; D014689:Venous Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D012597:Sclerosing Solutions