2013 Volume 24 Issue 1 Pages 23-30
We evaluated the surgical results and determined the changes in venous function by air plethysmography in patients who underwent thigh stripping combined with foam sclerotherapy for the great saphenous trunk. Sclerotherapy was performed using the following concentrations of polidocanol: 1% (group A, 36 patients, 45 limbs), 0.5% (group B, 44 patients, 56 limbs) and 0.33% (group C, 44 patients, 52 limbs). We measured venous filling index (VFI, ml/sec.), venous volume (VV, ml) and residual volume fraction (RVF, %) by air plethysmography before and 1, 6, 12 and 24 months after the operation. Incidence of thrombophlebitis was 18.6% in group A, 7.1% in group B and 3.8% in group C, and the incidence in group A was significantly higher than that in groups B and C. The cumulative recurrence-free rates at 12 months after the operation were 95.4% in group A, 92.9% in group B and 86.5% in group C, and the recurrence-free rate in group A was significantly higher than that in group C. The VV value in group A, B and C were 116.7±40.6, 138.2±47.6 and 130.5±45 before operation and 80.7±22.4, 90.5±36.6 and 94.1±35.2 at 12 months after the operation. All groups showed an improvement in venous stasis, which was evidenced by the reduction in VV values at 12 months after the operation. On the basis of the surgical outcomes and the results for venous function, we concluded that the optimal concentration of polidocanol was 0.5%.
