Prevention of saphenous nerve injury after below-knee laser ablation of incompetent great saphenous veins: A trial of two-step ablation and an early result.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of a two-step endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) protocol for treating long-reflux great saphenous veins (GSV) below the knee (BK) while preventing saphenous nerve injury.

METHODS

A total of 370 legs with long-reflux to BK-GSV underwent EVLA using a Biolitec 1470 nm laser system and a radial 2-ring slim fiber. The above-knee GSV was ablated at 7 W (50-70 J/cm), and the BK-segment was ablated at 5 W (20-25 J/cm) in a two-step.

RESULTS

The average ablation length was 51 cm, including 28 legs treated over 60 cm. Saphenous nerve injury was not observed in any patients. One month later, ultrasonography revealed complete occlusion of all treated GSV.

CONCLUSIONS

Our EVLA protocol for treating BK-GSV was found to be a safe and efficient procedure.