Recurrence of Varicose Vein after Endovenous Laser Therapy in a Tertiary Care Center: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Varicosity is the common problem of various etiology having simple limb aching to worst complications like oedema, ulcer, and skin changes. Minimal invasive endovenous laser therapy is a noble procedure. The aim of the study is to find out the recurrence of the varicose vein after laser therapy in a tertiary care center. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done in 38 patients with varicosity of the lower limb in a tertiary care hospital, from January 2019 to June 2019 after taking ethical clearance from Institutional Review Committee. Convenience sampling was done. Data was collected and entry was done in Statistical Package for the Social Science software version 22, point estimate at 90% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. RESULTS: We recorded 38 patients with ablated limb out of which none of the ablated veins showed recanalization in six months follow up. Twenty two (58%) patients were male and 16 (42%) patients were female with a mean age of 40.26 years. Major bulk, 23 (60.5%) resumed activity in second postoperative day and only 1 (2.6%) patient waited for 5 days for normal activity with mean of 2.58 days postoperatively. Sixteen (42.1%) patients developed erythema or ecchymosis, 12 (31.6%) patients had induration along the long saphenous vein course, 7 (18.4%) patients had paresthesia, 2 (5.3%) patients had limb swelling and 1 (2.6%) patient had skin burn. CONCLUSIONS: Endovenous laser ablation has very low rate of recurrence of varicosity and has minor complications.