Satisfactory result of great saphenous vein endovenous laser ablation until below the knee on active venous leg ulcer: a case series

TL;DR

This case series shows that endovenous laser ablation of the great saphenous vein below the knee can effectively heal active venous leg ulcers.

Contribution

The study demonstrates the safety and effectiveness of extending EVLA below the knee for active venous leg ulcers.

Findings

Three patients with active VLU showed significant ulcer healing after EVLA until below the knee.

Venous clinical severity scores decreased by 14, 16, and 17 in the three patients after 6 months.

No complications were observed in the patients following the procedure.

Abstract

Background: Active venous leg ulcer (VLU) is the most severe manifestation of chronic venous disease which not only affects patients’ health, but also decreases the quality of life, and delivers economic burdens. Treatment of superficial venous reflux with early endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) has been proven to reduce ulcer recurrence levels and promote faster VLU healing. We reported three cases of patients with active VLU undergoing EVLA with different approaches.

Case illustration: Three patients came with complaint of leg ulcer, diagnosed with C6sEpAsdPr, with venous clinical severity scores (VCSS) of 15, 23, and 22 respectively. Severe great saphenous veins (GSV) reflux was found in all patients by duplex ultrasound examination. The second patient had undergone above-the-knee EVLA. All patients underwent EVLA using 1470-nano meter wavelength laser device and ELVeS radial fiber (Biolitec, Bonn, Germany). The laser energy protocol used was 6 W linear endovenous energy density (LEED) 50 J/cm for proximal until media ATK GSV ablation, 5 W LEED 40 J/cm for media ATK until proximal below-the-knee (BTK) GSV, and 2 W LEED 20 J/cm for proximal until distal BTK GSV. The third patient was also treated with EVLA for small saphenous vein severe reflux. Follow-up until 6 months post-EVLA showed significant healing of the ulcer with 14, 16, and 17 VCSS reduction consecutively without any complication.

Conclusion: We’ve reported three cases of patients with active VLU undergoing EVLA until BTK with significant results. The EVLA of GSV until BTK is safe and provides satisfactory results in patients with VLU.

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