Title: Endovenous laser therapy، a minimally invasive surgery of lower-limb varicose veins: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: Varicose veins are abnormally large veins commonly seen in the legs, conventionally treated by an operation. Within the last few years, minimally invasive techniques have been developed as alternatives to surgery in an attempt to reduce morbidity and improve recovery time. Endovenous laser therapy (EVLT) is one of the most widely accepted and used treatment options for inefficient saphenous veins. Endovenous laser therapy is an image-guided, minimally invasive treatment for varicose veins. It uses radiofrequency or laser energy to cauterize (burn) and close the abnormal veins leading to varicose veins.METHODS: In this systematic review، the information was searched from Iran-Medex, Irandoc, and also in international databases; PubMed and NLM Gateway (for MEDLINE), Institute of Scientific Information (ISI), SCOPUS and EMBASE, between January 1991 to May 2019 with keywords of endovenous laser therapy، lower limb varicose vein. Then the articles which obtained the patients with lower limb varicose veins were entered to the study.RESULTS: The reported prevalence is presented as percent and 95% confidence interval. The search yielded 504 publications that were related to inclusion criteria. According to titles, 240 publications were excluded as clearly ineligible, leaving 90 for further review. A review of these studies showed that endovenous laser therapy is generally complication-free and safe. No surgical incision is needed، and it is associated with much less pain during recovery. This procedure leaves virtually no scars because catheter placement requires skin openings of only a few millimeters, not large incisions. Most patients report symptom relief and are able to return to normal daily activities immediately, with little or no pain.CONCLUSION: The advantages of endovenous laser therapy are the lack of surgical wounds, so infection and scarring are avoided, and that the procedure can be performed in an outpatient setting using local anaesthesia. Endovenous laser therapy appears to be a safe and effective treatment option for varicose veins.

کلیدواژه ها:

endovenous laser therapy ، lower limb varicose vein