Evaluatıng the Impact of Great Saphenous Veın Reflux Pattern on Clınıcal Severıty and Treatment Modalıty

Objectives: This research aimed to determine the impact of reflux patterns in patients with great saphenous vein (GSV) insufficiency on clinical severity and management. Methods: We evaluated 771 lower extremities of 452 patients having GSV insufficiency with Doppler Ultrasound. We characterized the reflux patterns like previously done in the literature: type 1, GSV reflux without the involvement of perimalleolar region or saphenofemoral junction (SFJ); type 2, GSV reflux involving perimalleolar region; type 3, GSV reflux involving SFJ; type 4, GSV reflux involving both perimalleolar region and SFJ. Then we conducted a study to evaluate the relationship between GSV reflux type and age, gender, venous clinical severity score (VCSS), clinical, etiological, anatomical and pathophysiological elements (CEAP), body mass index (BMI) and gave an effort to compare the groups by therapeutic strategies. Results: The mean age was 44±11 years. The male-to-female ratio was 0.49. The most commonly observed reflux pattern was type 3 (48%) in patients with GSV insufficiency and varicose veins. Patients with type 1 reflux were younger, had lower BMI, and had a better clinical situation (p=0.002). VCSS was associated with perimalleolar region involvement, as increased in type 2 reflux than type 1, and higher VCSS was related to SFJ involvement as defined in type 3 reflux. Type 4 reflux patients had the highest VCSS that means the most severe clinical presentation. Sclerotherapy was the most common treatment modality in type 1 reflux (p<0.001). Also, in type 2 and type 4 reflux, sclerotherapy was more preferred than type 3 (p<0.001). Type 4 reflux pattern required mostly radiofrequency ablation, compared with type 3 (28.2% vs 20.5%; p<0.05) after initial diagnosis. Cyanoacrylate glue embolization was the appropriate therapeutic option in only 3.2% of type 4 reflux patients, which was significantly lower than type 3. Conclusion: According to the reflux pattern classification system based on SFJ and malleolar region involvement as practiced in this study, we described a correlation between VCSS, CEAP, BMI, and the extent of venous insufficiency. This correlation with consideration of cosmetic reasons and vein diameter measurements can suggest further treatment modality. Advances in knowledge: We investigated a practical, clinically applicable, and widely accepted standard method for classifying GSV insufficiency. Mapping venous insufficiency with such a system is essential to determine the clinical severity and the most appropriate treatment modality.