Minimally Invasive Treatment for Ovarian Vein Reflux

A new catheter-based procedure treats ovarian vein reflux with embolization, which blocks the enlarged veins with small steel coils.

Ovarian vein reflux, also called pelvic congestion syndrome, is often undetected and untreated. Among the causes are endometriosis, nerve conditions, pelvic support disorders, and trauma. In women with the condition, the valves in the pelvic veins fail to work properly, allowing blood to flow backward down into the pelvis. Gravity causes the blood to pool, stretching and enlarging the veins and causing dull pelvic pain, pressure, and heaviness.

Unlike varicose veins in the legs, varicose veins in the pelvis are difficult to see. Ultrasound or other imaging may not help to diagnose the condition because the patient is lying down and veins are apt to appear normal. Now, doctors are performing venography to diagnose the condition, a procedure in which a contrast solution is injected into the pelvic veins to enhance imaging and reveal abnormalities. When found, these are treated with embolization to block the enlarged veins with steel coils.

"Diagnosing ovarian vein reflux has been difficult, because we've lacked a noninvasive diagnostic tool capable of evaluating veins deep in the pelvis,” explained Anne C. Roberts, M.D., chief of vascular and interventional radiology at the University of California San Diego Medical Center (CA, USA). "In addition, physicians have not been trained to look for this condition.” Dr. Roberts spoke during a media briefing on image-guided therapies by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).




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U. California, San Diego