Endovenous RF Proves Superior to Vein-Stripping Surgery

Two separate randomized trials have found that endovenous radiofrequency (RF) obliteration provides significant advantages for patients with varicose veins compared to traditional vein-stripping surgery and that the benefits persist for two years following treatment. The findings were presented at the German Society of Phlebology Congress in Nurnberg (Germany) by Professor Sanja Schuller-Petrovic, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Vienna (Austria).

Two-year follow-up results of a multi-center randomized trial comparing the two methods showed that more than 91% of limbs treated with the RF procedure were free of reflux, the underlying cause of varicose veins. Neovascularization, a common cause of recurrence following vein stripping, was observed in only 3% of RF-treated patients compared to 17% of patients who had surgical vein stripping. Overall, RF patients had less pain and better improvement in physical activity than patients whose veins were stripped.

Shorter term results from a second trial were also summarized at the meeting. These showed that patients receiving the RF therapy experienced faster recovery, less pain, and returned to normal activities more than three times faster that patients whose veins were surgically stripped. More than 80% of the RF patients returned to normal activities within one day, compared to only 47% of surgery patients. The RF procedure, also known as the VNUS Closure procedure, was developed by VNUS Medical Technologies, Inc. (San Jose, CA, USA).

"There is now definitive proof that patients treated with the minimally invasive Closure procedure recover faster with less pain and fewer adverse events than patients treated with vein-stripping surgery,” said Brian Farley, president and CEO of VNUS Medical Technologies.




Related Links:
VNUS Medical