Doctors reported Tuesday (March 27) that varicose saphenous veins can be closed using radiofrequency energy in a procedure that can be done in the doctor's office on an outpatient basis.

"This will revolutionize vein treatment," said Mark Marzano, MD, an interventional radiologist with offices in Barrington, Ill., and Baltimore, Md. "It's a relatively simple procedure and has many advantages over surgery, which can be painful, involves several incisions and requires the use of general anesthesia."

Dr. Marzano and colleagues reported at the 25th annual scientific meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (SCVIR) on a series of 371 procedures performed in 336 patients at 33 centers worldwide. After six months, 209 of 221 legs -- 95 percent -- remained free of reflux. Reflux is the backflow of blood that occurs usually in the saphenous vein, the blood vessel that runs the length of the inner leg.

Dr. Marzano has performed 40 procedures in the past six months and, in 87 percent of these, the vein has closed off and no longer causes symptoms. In another 9 percent of patients, the vein has reverted to a normal status, carrying blood without backflow, Dr. Marzano said.

In the procedure, Dr. Marzano makes a small incision in the back of the knee and inserts a catheter into the saphenous vein, which is located precisely using ultrasound. The catheter is then advanced up the leg to the groin. At that point, an electrode in the catheter is unsheathed and radiofrequency energy is activated. The tip of the catheter is heated to 87 degrees Celsius and the catheter is slowly withdrawn at the rate of about three centimeters per minute. The heat causes the vein the collapse.

Dr. Marzano said the procedure takes about a half hour to perform.

When the probe is turned off, Dr. Marzano again checks the leg by ultrasound to make sure it has closed. An adhesive bandage closes the incision. Dr. Marzano allows his patients to return to their regular activities immediately -- jogging or playing tennis. He restricts weightlifting for a week.

About 15 percent of North Americans have varicose veins and 75 percent of them are women.

Robert Vogelzang, MD, a past president of the SCVIR and professor of radiology at Northwestern University School of Medicine, in Chicago, IL, said the use of radiofrequency energy is "another novel and innovative way that interventional radiologists do things, in this cases using catheters to block off these painful veins."