Endovenous laser treatment for varicose veins in Singapore: a single centre experience of 169 patients over two years

Tan KK, Nalachandran S, Chia KH
Correspondence: Dr Ker-Kan Tan, kerkan@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Introduction Endovenous lasertherapy (EVLT) is one of the many minimally-invasive procedures that have been developed in recent years for the treatment of varicose veins. We present our single centre experience of 169 patients who underwent EVLT.
Methods All patients who underwent EVLT since its introduction in our institution were included in our series.
Results A total of 270 incompetent long saphenous veins in 169 patients were ablated by EVLT from February 2006 to January 2008. Bilateral EVLT was performed in 101 (59.8 percent) patients, with the remaining 68 (40.2 percent) undergoing unilateral EVLT. The mean age of the patients was 54 (range 19–78) years and there were 112 (66.3 percent) women. The majority of our patients (63.3 percent) had symptoms for more than five years. The symptoms included lower limb cramps and aches (47.9 percent) as well as lower limb swelling (16.6 percent). The median follow-up was six months. Complications from our series included numbness over the affected lower limbs (10.7 percent) and skin pigmentation (4.1 percent). Only 2.4 percent of patients had recurrence after one year.
Conclusion Early results with EVLT have been impressive, and this study has reaffirmed the safety and effectiveness of EVLT in the treatment of varicose veins.

Keywords: endovenous laser therapy, long saphenous veins, varicose veins
Singapore Med J 2009; 50(6): 591-594