Treatment and contemporary outcomes associated with adjunct tourniquet use during phlebectomy of complex, voluminous truncular varicosities.

OBJECTIVE

Phlebectomy of large voluminous varicose veins comes with a risk of substantial blood loss. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the outcomes associated with the use of an adjunct tourniquet during varicose vein surgery of complex and large truncular varicosities.

METHODS

The prospectively collected registry data included anatomic and outcomes details for patients who presented with complex and large truncular varicosities with a CEAP clinical class of C2, or higher (indicating more serious venous disease) from December 2014 to December 2021. Of all patients, those treated with an adjunct tourniquet for large complex varicosities (largest diameter varicosity ≥1 cm by visual inspection) were selected for analysis. The venous clinical severity scores (VCSSs) and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were obtained. Additional parameters, including operative time, tourniquet time, and blood loss, were obtained retrospectively via a review of the medical records. Univariate descriptive statistics of the demographic and procedural data were performed pre- and postoperatively, with comparisons performed using the Student two-tailed t test.

RESULTS

The data from 19 patients (22 limbs; 7 women and 12 men) were analyzed. Of the 22 limbs, 11 (50%) had advanced venous disease of C4 or higher preoperatively. A review of the preoperative duplex ultrasound scans confirmed the presence of large varicosities (average, 1.0 ± 0.54 cm; n = 18). All the limbs were treated using radiofrequency ablation of axial reflux and phlebectomy (a combination of powered and stab) under tourniquet control (82%) or phlebectomy under tourniquet control alone (18%). The average tourniquet time was 40 ± 12 minutes, with a median blood loss of 50 mL (interquartile range, 30-100 mL). The average follow-up was 332 ± 422 days after 19 procedures for 16 patients (2 patients moved out of state during the immediate postoperative period and 1 patient was lost to follow-up). Of the patients who completed >3 months of follow-up, 14 limbs experienced improvement in the CEAP class, 5 limbs had no change, and 3 were limbs of patients who moved or were lost to follow-up. The VCSSs significantly improved (8.8 ± 2.8 vs 3.9 ± 1.9; P < .0001). The PROs also improved significantly (16.1 ± 5.0 vs 2.2 ± 2.3; P < .0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Tourniquet use in the treatment of varicosities has only been described in the setting of high ligation and stripping. Our data suggest that in the modern era of minimally invasive endovenous treatment of axial reflux and phlebectomy, adjunct tourniquet use during the treatment of large complex varicosities can result in significant improvements in the VCSSs and PROs, with minimal blood loss.