We conducted a prospective cohort study of 48 consecutive patients diagnosed with IVCS between December 2008 and May 2012. We divided the patients into 2 groups: thrombotic IVCS (n聽=聽12) and nonthrombotic IVCS (n聽=聽36). We evaluated the perioperative, 30-day, and 1-year outcomes of endovascular treatment. We estimated the stent patency rate using the Kaplan-Meier method.
The prevalence of IVCS within our cohort was 14.8% (48/324). The technical success rate of the endovascular treatment was 95.8%. There was no death, pulmonary embolism, or contrast-induced nephropathy among the patients. The 1-year primary patency rate was 93.0%. There was no significant difference between the thrombotic and nonthrombotic IVCS groups (P聽=聽0.156). Perioperative complications were minor and improved quickly. The median pain level recorded on a visual analogue scale declined from 4.5 to 1.2 (P聽<聽0.05) in the thrombotic ICVS group and from 3.3 to 0.3 (P聽<聽0.05) in the nonthrombotic ICVS group. The edema relief rates in the thrombotic and nonthrombotic ICVS groups were 81.8% and 58.5%, respectively. The cumulative recurrence free ulcer healing rate was 71.4% 12聽months after treatment.
IVCS is more common than previously thought among patients with unilateral left lower limb chronic venous disease. Endovascular therapy, a minimally invasive approach to treating venous lesions, is a feasible and effective treatment for left-sided IVCS and has a high technical success rate and an acceptable complication profile.