Surgical experience of external valvular stenting for varicose veins in Sydney

(Background) Recently, the number of the external valvular stenting (EVS) at the saphenofemoral junction (SFJ) for varicose veins has been increasing markedly in America, Europe and Australia because of its several advantages, such as minimal invasive surgery, low recurrence rate and preservation of the great saphenous vein. However, there are only a few reports on EVS with hand-made material in Japan. This paper introduces my surgical experience of the EVS in Sydney. (Materials and Method) Eighteen limbs (12 females, 3 males) underwent EVS surgery at the sapheno-femoral junction for varicose veins with the Venocuff II which is a small and thin Dacron-reinforced Silicone cuff between December 2006 and March 2008 in collaboration with Professor Rodney J Lane, creator of the Venocuff II. (Results) No complications, such as infection, superficial clots or deep vein thrombosis occurred. Moreover, duplex scanning revealed that the blood flow in sapheno-femoral junction returned to a physiologically normal level in all the patients 3 months after surgery. In addition, all the patients were much satisfied with the results of the operation. (Conclusion) Vascular diseases have been markedly increasing in Japan, such as coronary and peripheral artery diseases due to changes in life style and Westernization of diet. Therefore, preservation of the great saphenous vein will be important for bypass surgery. EVS using the Venocuff II may be widely performed in the future in Japan.