VENOUS COIL EMBOLIZATION

Venous Coil Embolization is used when there are varicose veins in the pelvis that are causing significant pain (Pelvic Congestion Syndrome). These need to be eliminated or “dried up.” Most of the varicose veins are located around the uterus and ovaries and sometimes the bladder and rectum. Hemorrhoids are varicose veins of the anal canal. The varicose veins can be the result of damaged one way valves in the ovarian veins or in the internal iliac veins.

How It’s Done

A catheter is inserted into a neck or leg vein. With careful manipulation of specially shaped catheters and wires under x-ray guidance, X-ray dye studies (Venograms) of the ovarian veins and internal iliac veins are obtained. If the dye goes the wrong way against the valves and fills the varicose veins, then they need to be destroyed. Special catheters containing self-expanding spiral coils with attached fibers are deployed. This makes the vein clot. A special foam sclerosant is then flushed into the varicose veins to close them down as well.

• The post op pain may have to resolve before it can be determined if the treatment helped.
• If more than one source of pelvic varicose veins is found, treating only one may be sufficient to relieve the symptoms. If it is not sufficient, then another procedure may be required to complete the treatment.

• This replaces open surgical ligation of the ovarian vein or hysterectomy.
• Hysterectomy may adequately disrupt the varicose vein network. Often it is done for other reasons, but helps the pelvic congestion symptoms.