Great saphenous vein occlusion rates after combined treatment with laser and foam sclerotherapy.

Abstract Background Endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) and foam sclerotherapy are effective and safe treatments for chronic venous disease with great saphenous vein (GSV) reflux. We report our experience combining both strategies as a merged approach to treat GSV incompetence to potentiate both methods' superiority and benefits. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of this treatment strategy. Methods A total of 246 limbs with GSV incompetence (C2-C6) treated with EVLA and foam sclerotherapy between January 2016 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Outcomes of interest were the International Union of Phlebology (IUP) type of anatomic closure (primary, primary assisted, secondary, and therapeutic failure), identified with ultrasound in the GSV after the procedure. Clinical and ultrasound follow-up was conducted at 2 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months after intervention. We used the Fisher exact test to determine the significance of the association between the type of anatomic closure and the clinical stage according to the Clinical-Etiology-Anatomy-Pathophysiology classification. Results A total of 67% of the treated limbs were C2-C4 and 33% C5-C6. IUP primary closure was achieved in 229 limbs (93%), IUP primary assisted closure in 10 limbs (4%), IUP secondary closure in 1 limb (0.4%), and therapeutic failure in 6 limbs (2%). A total of 45 limbs (18%) required microthrombectomies of tributary veins due to local induration, 7 (2.8%) developed dyschromia, 4 (1.6%) had type 1 endovenous heat-induced thrombosis, and 1 limb (0.4%) developed deep vein thrombosis, which was successfully treated with anticoagulation. Conclusions Our results demonstrate a high occlusion rate of incompetent GSVs with combined EVLA and foam sclerotherapy with infrequent nonserious complications and one case of subclinical isolated popliteal deep vein thrombosis. Combined therapy effectiveness and safety are comparable with other endovenous treatments for chronic venous disease with GSV reflux. The use of both thermal and chemical ablation combines the benefits of both techniques.