The Effect of a Subsequent Pregnancy After Ovarian Vein Embolization in Patients with Infertility Caused by Pelvic Congestion Syndrome

Endovascular Treatment of Pelvic Venous Congestion Syndrome in Nulliparous Patients-Preliminary Results of 10 Years of Experience

PURPOSE

The aim of this article is to present our experience with minimally-invasive treatment for nulliparous patients with pelvic venous congestion syndrome (PVCS) with special attention to anatomical considerations, procedural and clinical outcome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this retrospective, monocentric study, 21 patients with PVCS treated from January 2014 to June 2023 were included. The preprocedural imaging evaluation of PVCS was based on color Doppler ultrasound, contrast-enhanced CT and/or MRI. In all cases insufficient ovarian veins and/or internal iliac branches were occluded with coils and sclerosant. Procedural and clinical outcomes were measured 30 and 90 days after the procedure.

RESULTS

Average duration of pelvic pain was 44.8 ± 54.2 months (from 6 to 200) with the mean VAS-recorded pain intensity of 8.5 ± 1.1 (range from 7 to 10 where 0 was "no pain" and 10 "worst pain possible"). Most common symptoms included dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and dysuria. Complete embolization was observed in in all cases. Targeted vessels included left ovarian vein (13/21, 62%), both ovarian veins (7/21, 33%) and left pudendal with left ovarian (1/21, 5%). Residual PVCS was noted in 1 patient. Mean VAS at 90-days after the procedure was 2.4 ± 1.4 (range from 0 to 6, p < 0.001). Nineteen patients (90%) were satisfied with the clinical outcome (13 "very satisfied", 6 "satisfied") and reported improvement in quality of life. Two patients (9.5%) reported to be "neutral" as the VAS reduction was less than 50%.

CONCLUSION

Our study confirms that endovascular coil embolization is safe and effective in treatment of nulliparous patients with PVCS that provides very high rate of clinical success and overall satisfaction.

Vascular Diseases in Women: Do Women Suffer from Them Differently?

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women worldwide, yet its magnitude is often underestimated. Biological and gender differences affect health, diagnosis, and healthcare in numerous ways. The lack of sex and gender awareness in health research and healthcare is an ongoing issue that affects not only research but also treatment and outcomes. The importance of recognizing the impacts of both sex and gender on health and of knowing the differences between the two in healthcare is beginning to gain ground. There is more appreciation of the roles that biological differences (sex) and sociocultural power structures (gender) have, and both sex and gender affect health behavior, the development of diseases, their diagnosis, management, and the long-term effects of an illness. An important issue is the knowledge and awareness of women about vascular diseases. The risk of cardiovascular events is drastically underestimated by women themselves, as well as by those around them. The purpose of this review is to draw attention to improving the medical care and treatment of women with vascular diseases.

A review of the pathophysiology and evidence-based management of varicoceles and pelvic congestion syndrome

Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) in females and varicoceles in males may be regarded as closely related conditions since the main pathophysiological cause for both processes is pelvic venous insufficiency. Varicoceles are more prevalent amongst sub-fertile males, with an approximate incidence of 15% in the general male population. PCS is commonly diagnosed amongst premenopausal multiparous women, representing one of the leading causes of chronic pelvic pain. Both conditions appear to be predominantly left-sided and are associated with oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cascades with subsequent effects on fertility. Clinical examination and pelvic ultrasonography play an essential role in the assessment of varicoceles, PCS and chronic pelvic pain. Venography is generally considered as a gold-standard procedure for both conditions. There is still much debate on how these conditions should be managed. This review article provides a comparative analysis of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of both PCS and varicoceles, their impact on fertility, as well as their clinical management.

Pelvic Venous Disorders: An Update in Terminology, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Pelvic venous disorder (PeVD) is a term that encompasses all the interrelated causes of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and perineal/lower extremity varicose veins of pelvic venous origin historically known as nutcracker syndrome, pelvic congestion syndrome, and May-Thurner syndrome, resulting in a more precise diagnosis that accounts for the underlying pathophysiology and anatomy. PeVD manifests as CPP with associated vulvar and lower-extremity varicosities, left flank pain and hematuria, and lower extremity pain and swelling secondary to obstruction or reflux in the left renal, ovarian, or iliac veins. This article will focus specifically on the most current nomenclature, evaluation, and management of CPP of venous origin.

Deep venous stenting in females

Deep venous stenting has gained increasing prominence in recent years. This issue focuses on special considerations in female patients. The specific challenge relates to the fact that these patients are often much younger than those in whom arterial stents are placed. The stents have to perform adequately over potentially 60 years- and there is no data of that length available.

Foam Sclerotherapy in Pelvic Congestion Syndrome

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a prevalent condition in middle-aged women that represents a heavy social impact on the quality of life of those females. Treatment of pelvic congestion syndrome is a complex and controversial issue, but treatment can be one of 3 lines: medical therapy, endovascular treatment, and surgical intervention. The endovascular line was first introduced in 1993 and has been popular over other lines of treatment methods. This retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary university hospital over 24 months, from March 2019 to March 2021. Forty patients with PGS were managed by left ovarian vein TCFS. The Institutional Review Board waived the need for ethics approval or informed consent to use anonymized and retrospectively analyzed data. The mean age of enrolled women was 33.80 ± 6.54 years, ranging between 20 and 45 years. Trans-catheter ethanolamine foam embolization is an effective and safe method to treat pelvic and atypical lower limb varices.

Comprehensive overview of the venous disorder known as pelvic congestion syndrome

Pelvic venous disorders (PeVD) also known as Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (PCS) affect a great number of women worldwide and often remain undiagnosed. Gynecological symptoms caused by vascular background demand a holistic approach for appropriate diagnosis. This is a relevant cause of chronic pelvic pain and atypical varicose veins. The diagnosis is based on imaging studies and their correlation with clinical presentation. Although the aetiology of PCS still remains unclear, it may result from a combination of factors including genetic predisposition, anatomical abnormalities, hormonal factors, damage to the vein wall, valve dysfunction, reverse blood flow, hypertension and dilatation. The following paper describes an in-depth overview of anatomy, pathophysiology, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of PCS. In recent years, minimally invasive interventions have become the method of first choice for the treatment of this condition. The efficacy of a percutaneous approach is high and it is rarely associated with serious complications.Key MessagesPelvic venous disorders demand a holistic approach for appropriate diagnosis.This article takes an in-depth look at existing therapies of Pelvic Congestion Syndrome and pathophysiology of this condition.Embolisation is an effective and safe treatment option.

Ovarian Vein Embolization With N-butyl-2 Cyanoacrylate Glubran-2® for the Treatment of Pelvic Venous Disorder

Background: There are few reports in the literature on the use of Glubran-2 for the embolization of ovarian veins in patients with pelvic venous disorder (PeVD). In addition, a consensus on the efficacy and safety of Glubran-2 has not been reached. Purpose: To investigate the safety and efficacy of ovarian vein embolization (OVE) with N-butyl-2 cyanoacrylate (NBCA) Glubran-2 for the treatment of PeVD. Material and Methods: Between January 2013 and January 2020, 21 women (mean age, 43.9 ± 13.3 years) with PeVD who underwent OVE with Glubran-2 were evaluated. Of those patients, ovarian vein or pelvic venous plexus insufficiency was verified by duplex ultrasound and/or multislice computer tomography (MSCT). The symptoms and signs of PeVD included chronic pelvic pain (CPP) (21/21; 100%), dyspareunia (12/21; 57.1%), dysmenorrhea (10/21; 47.6%), and vulvar varices (3/21; 14.3%). The medical data were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Glubran-2 was employed as the sole embolic material in 18 cases (85.7%) and used to perform rescue embolization in 3 cases (14.3%) due to CPP recurrence 1 month after initial embolization using microcoils. Technically successful embolization was achieved using Glubran-2 in all patients. No Glubran-2 related complications were noted. Neither persistent nor recurrent CPP was observed during follow-up, for which the mean was 62 ± 38 months (range, 12-102 months). Clinical efficacy was evaluated, and all patients exhibited complete or slight improvement of CPP after embolization. The visual analog scale (VAS) score significantly decreased from pre-intervention to post-intervention (p < 0.001). Six patients (28.6%) gave birth to healthy babies during follow-up after embolization with Glubran-2. Conclusions: Ovarian vein embolization with Glubran-2 is a feasible and safe treatment for CPP secondary to PeVD. This treatment may represent a potential and attractive alternative when patients desire symptom relief and want to continue reproducing. Larger studies are warranted to confirm the findings of this study.

A systematic review on isolated coil embolization for pelvic venous reflux

OBJECTIVE

Pelvic venous reflux (PVR) can present with symptoms such as chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, and dyspareunia, resulting in a decreased quality of life among those affected. Percutaneous coil embolization (CE) is a common intervention for PVR; however, the efficacy and safety of its use in isolation has yet to be reviewed.

METHODS

The MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were systematically searched from 1990 to July 20, 2020, for studies reporting on adult patients undergoing isolated CE for PVR. Articles not in English, case reports, studies reporting on pediatric patients, and studies not performing isolated CE were excluded. Search, review, and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers (S.S. and M.T.). Changes in pain before and after CE was evaluated through a pooled analysis of visual analogue scale scores in seven studies.

RESULTS

A total of 970 patients (range, 3-218, 100% female) undergoing isolated ovarian vein or mixed veins embolization from 20 studies were included. Pooled analysis revealed mean improvements of 5.47 points (95% CI, 4.77-6.16) on the visual analogue scale. Common symptoms such as urinary urgency and dyspareunia reported significant improvements of 78-100% and 60-89.5% respectively. Complications were rare, with coil migration (n = 19) being the most common. Recurrence rates differed based on the varying symptoms and studies, with recurrence in pain 1-2 years after CE ranging from 5.9-25%. Two randomized controlled trials revealed improved clinical outcomes with CE as compared with vascular plugs and hysterectomy.

CONCLUSIONS

The current data suggests that isolated CE is technically effective and can result in clinical improvement among patients with PVR. However, further trials are required to ascertain its long-term effects.

Choosing the Most Appropriate Treatment Option for Pelvic Venous Disease: Stenting versus Embolization

Pelvic venous disease (PeVD) in women encompasses a wide variety of entities all resulting in pelvic pain and varices. Successful treatment with percutaneous interventions is dependent on identifying underlying factors contributing to the disease and addressing them with either embolization of incompetent veins or stenting for venous stenoses. There are a multitude of embolization methods with marked practice heterogeneity. Moreover, with the ongoing development of dedicated venous stents in the treatment of chronic venous disease, there are more opportunities to consider this modality for the treatment of PeVD, as many patients present with combined vein reflux and central venous stenosis. The necessity to address both and the order of interventions in these patients is still to be elucidated. Here, we describe when to choose stenting or embolization for PeVD, their limitations, and our practice and identify further areas of research in this field.

[Immediate and remote results of endovascular embolization of ovarian veins]

Presented in the article is a prospective study of endovascular embolization of ovarian veins in female patients suffering from primary pelvic varicose veins, with the assessment of the immediate and remote results, as well as a 1-year follow up.

AIM

The aim of our investigation was a comprehensive clinical and instrumental assessment of efficacy of endovascular embolization in women with pelvic varicose veins.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Our single-centre study included a total of 29 female patients presenting with pelvic varicose veins and undergoing embolization of ovarian veins using microcoils, in 5 cases the procedure was supplemented with injecting a foam sclerosant.

RESULTS

The technical success of endovascular occlusion of ovarian veins amounted to 100%. Two women immediately after the operation were subjected to a redo intervention: in one case - resection of the ovarian vein and in the second case - repositioning of the microcoils. In the remote period, one patient due to recurrent relapses underwent repeat embolization followed by retroperitoneal resection of the ovarian vein. The findings of the clinical methods of examination demonstrated a decrease in the intensity of manifestations of pelvic varicose veins according to the pelvic venous clinical severity score and visual analogue scale, as well as improvement of the women's quality of life.

CONCLUSION

Endovascular occlusion of ovarian veins is a highly effective, minimally invasive, and safe method of treatment of female patients with incompetent ovarian veins. Endovascular treatment may be regarded as a method of choice in management of the primary form of pelvic varicose veins.

MRI associated factors of clinical efficacy of embolization in patients with pelvic venous insufficiency

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to identify anatomical findings at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) associated with successful percutaneous embolization in women with pelvic venous insufficiency (PVI).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Between 2008 and 2018, 168 consecutive women (mean age, 39±9 [SD] years; range: 21-69 years) who underwent percutaneous embolization for PVI confirmed by MRI and phlebography were included. Clinical efficacy of embolization was evaluated by patients' opinion or visual analogue scale. Associated factors of success of embolization were searched by comparing MRI findings in women with successful embolization with those in women with failed embolization using univariate analyses.

RESULTS

The mean follow-up was 36±29 (SD) months (range: 12-138 months). Clinical efficacy of embolization was obtained in 126/168 women (75%), complete symptom improvement in 33/168 women (20%) and significant partial improvement in 92/168 women (55%). No symptom improvement and symptoms exacerbation were observed in 17/168 (10%) and 2/168 (1%) women, respectively. At univariate analysis, right ovarian vein diameter≤7mm and vulvar varicosities were associated with successful embolization (P=0.04 and P=0.01, respectively) and left ovarian vein diameter≤7mm was associated with a complete improvement of symptoms (P=0.03). At multivariate analysis, a small right ovarian vein diameter was the single MRI variable associated with clinical efficacy of embolization (P=0.04).

CONCLUSION

Small ovarian vein diameters on MRI are associated with best clinical efficacy of percutaneous embolization in PVI. Right ovarian vein diameter>7mm should warrant further phlebography to exclude venous insufficiency.

Role of trans-abdominal and trans-perineal venous duplex ultrasound in cases of pelvic congestion syndrome

Background

For evaluation the role of trans-abdominal and trans-perineal venous duplex ultrasound in cases of pelvic congestion syndrome, fifty patients with pelvic congestion syndrome were included in the current research. All were evaluated by trans-abdominal and trans-perineal venous duplex.

Results

An incompetent left gonadal vein was detected in all cases with a mean diameter (± SD) = 7.9 ± 1.1 mm. The right gonadal vein was incompetent in 4 cases (8%) with a mean diameter (± SD) 5.9 ± 0.4 mm.

A refluxing proximal internal iliac vein was detected in 3cases (6%). Left renal vein nutcracker was present in 41cases (82%) while the left common iliac vein compression was present in 3 cases (6%).

Vulvoperineal varicosities were seen in all cases {right side = (36%, n = 18), left side = (30%, n = 15), and bilateral = (34%, n = 17)}.Thigh extension of the vulvoperineal varicosities was present in (74%, n = 37).

Round ligament varicosities were present in (6%, n = 3).

Conclusions

Trans-abdominal and trans-perineal venous duplex offer a simple, noninvasive, and quick technique that can help in an accurate evaluation of the ovarian vein reflux, diameters as well as the presence of vulvoperineal, and round ligament varicosities, Moreover, it is useful in the assessment of the left renal and iliac veins compression.