24.07.13
Interventional treatment recommended for varicose veins
Surgery should only be considered as a last option for varicose veins, new guidance from NICE recommends.
There is currently a wide variation of treatment for varicose veins, with no definitive system for determining who would benefit most from interventional treatment. The guidance suggests Duplex Ultrasound should be used to confirm a diagnosis before less invasive treatments are tried.
Laser treatment should be offered first, followed by ultrasound-guided foam scleropathy if the first is unsuitable. Only if that also proves to be ineffective should surgery be considered.
Professor Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE, said: “Although varicose veins are a common health complaint, there was no established framework for diagnosis and treatment in the NHS until now.
“For some people they present few problems, while others can suffer painful and distressing symptoms.
“This guidance sets out the options for patients and their physicians to treat the individual symptoms of each patient so that no matter where they live, they have access to the therapy that's right for them.”
Professor Alun Davies, Professor of Vascular Surgery and Honorary Consultant Surgeon, Imperial College and Imperial College NHS Trust, Charing Cross and St Mary's Hospitals, London, and chair of the group which developed the guideline added: “This guideline shows quite clearly that interventional treatment for some patients who are suffering from symptomatic varicose veins is a better alternative to surgery, and is both clinically and cost effective. It will help standardise care for all those with this condition.”
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