Background: Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) refers to non-cyclical, persistent pelvic pain that lasts longer than six months and is primarily felt by women during the childbearing years. Trans-catheter ovarian vein embolization is now thought to be the first line of therapy for PCS.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the role of trans-catheter gonadal vein embolization as a management of pelvic venous disorder in females having symptomatic PCS using sclerosing foam (Lauromacrogol 3%).
Patients and methods: This prospective cohort research was performed on fifty female cases (with a mean age of 30.7 years) with persistent chronic pelvic pain (CPP) for over six months and poorly responsive to medical treatment. All cases have been referred to theinterventional radiology (IR) Unit for gonadal vein embolization. Sclerosant foam (Lauromacrogol 3%) was chosen as an embolic material, and then the patients underwent a 6-month monitoring duration to evaluate the outcomes and recurrence rates using visual analogue scale (VAS) and transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS).
Results:VAS declined dramatically from 8.8 ± 1.2 pre-procedure to 1.8 ± 1.4 post-procedure (highly significant P value < 0.001). The technical success rate of pelvic vein embolization was 100%. The clinical success has been determined by the TVUS, which demonstrated either complete resolution of the pelvic varices or static varices, and the VAS, which demonstrated a marked improvement.
Conclusions: The management of pelvic congestion syndrome through gonadal vein embolization using sclerosant foam (Lauromacrogol 3%) is an effective and safe procedure with a 100% technical success rate and dramatic improvement of pelvic pain and varices. Moreover, it is a cost-effective procedure.