Guidelines for Sclerotherapy of Varicose Veins

BACKGROUND. Sclerotherapy is the targeted elimination of intracutaneous, subcutaneous, and/or transfascial varicose veins (perforating veins) as well as the sclerosation of subfascial varicose vessels in the case of venous malformation by the injection of a sclerosant. With duplex-guide sclerotherapy and foam sclerotherapy, modified methods came into use. OBJECTIVE. The objective was to create a guideline, based on the available publications and on the European Consensus Document on foam sclerotherapy from April 2003. METHODS. This guideline was drafted on behalf of the German Society of Phlebology (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Phlebologie) and adopted by the committee and scientific advisory board of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Phlebologie on June 15, 2001, and amended on December 5, 2003. The guideline considers the present state of knowledge as reflected in the literature. CONCLUSIONS. This guideline represents the recent state of the art of sclerotherapy of varicose veins in Germany including foam sclerotherapy.