Sodium Tetradecyl Sulfate Sclerotherapy for Venous Malformation of the Tongue: A Single-Center Experience

Purpose To study the safety and effectiveness of sclerotherapy with 3% sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) in the management of venous malformation (VM) of the tongue. Materials and Methods The clinical and imaging data of patients with tongue VM treated with STS sclerotherapy over a period of 15 years (2002–2017) were reviewed. Safety was assessed based on the incidence of minor and major complications. Effectiveness was assessed by clinical improvement (reduction in symptoms and size) on a 10-point scale. Results The study included 44 patients (26 men and 18 women). The median age was 24 years at the time of treatment. Eight patients were lost to follow-up. Four patients (4 of 44, 9%) had complications including venous bleeding needing compression, self-limiting hematuria, significant swelling of the tongue requiring prolonged intubation, and arterial bleeding due to injury to the lingual artery. Clinical improvement was seen in 30 (30 of 36, 83%). The median clinical improvement was 4.5 on the 10-point scale, with a range of 1 to 8. Twelve (12 of 36, 33.3%) patients demonstrated 1 to 40% improvement in the lesion size and 18 (50%) had 41 to 80% improvement. Conclusion Sclerotherapy with 3% STS is safe and effective in treating venous malformations of the tongue with minimal complications.