6 March 2009
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EVLA has become the treatment of choice for varicose veins due to higher patient satisfaction, shorter recovery times, lower cost and the ease of the procedure. Overall the modality is associated with minimal side effects compared to other surgical methods and can be performed in an outpatient setting. The paper introduces and discusses important considerations when selecting EVLA technology such as wavelength, laser power, pulse form and withdrawal rate. Dr. Šikovec further describes the surgical protocol which was successfully applied in 525 procedures using Fotona's XP-2 family VSP Nd:YAG laser. Two power settings were examined during the study; 15-18W and 25W. The increase in laser power in treatments improved the percentage of occluded veins with 5.2% at the 6 month check-up stage and with 10.3% at one year, resulting in an overall vein occlusion percentage of 98.5%. The study demonstrates that with these extremely high success rates, the XP-2 family's VSP Nd:YAG laser is clearly an effective and safe treatment modality for varicose veins.
