Varicose Vein Treatment with VNUS Closure Fast

A minimally invasive, painless, revolutionary method for treating varicose veins. The procedure begins with ultrasound mapping of the affected venous area, followed by the treatment itself using radiofrequency energy, whose thermal effect causes the weakened vein wall to contract. This method has a long tradition in the USA; it has been introduced to Europe only in recent years, and in the Czech Republic it was first implemented in September 2007 by MUDr. Jaroslav Kliment.

What is the VNUS Closure Fast radiofrequency method?

Radiofrequency ablation of lower-limb varicose veins using the VNUS – Closure Fast method (hereinafter referred to as RFA) is a less invasive alternative to the traditional surgical technique used in the Czech Republic. The key difference is that the entire or part of the main superficial vein trunk is not stripped out; instead, it is closed from within the lumen by resistive heating to 120 °C, resulting in contraction and closure of both the main trunk and the junctions of all its branches.

The energy required for this closure is delivered to the target area via a special Closure Fast catheter or a Closure Stylet needle, guided by a cable from the generator, directly to the site of the varicose node or perforator. Because only the venous trunk is destroyed, the surrounding tissue is not damaged as it is in conventional surgery.

Advantages of RFA compared to the conventional method

• This procedure is significantly less invasive than traditional surgery.
• It has up to four times lower recurrence rates than the conventional method (3–4% with RFA compared to 15% with conventional surgery).
• Sick leave after RFA usually lasts several days to one week, whereas with conventional surgery it is 4–6 weeks. (The duration always depends on the clinical findings, the patient’s condition, and physical demands at work.)
• Complications associated with RFA are approximately half as frequent as with conventional surgery, and their occurrence is also influenced by clinical findings and the degree of venous insufficiency.

The recurrence of varicose veins often has a familial background; therefore, no surgical technique can guarantee that varicose veins will not appear again in the future. In the case of RFA procedures, recurrence usually involves the development of new varicose veins in venous trunks that were not pathologically altered at the time of the original surgery and therefore were not treated initially.