Efficacy of the endovascular ovarian vein embolization technique in pelvic venous congestion syndrome

PURPOSE: Pelvic pain, either related or unrelated to menstruation, is especially common in women of reproductive age. Thirty-nine per cent of all women suffer from chronic pelvic pain at some point in their lives, and pelvic venous congestion syndrome (PVCS) is the cause of this pain in 30% of cases. The aim of this study was to determine factors affecting the success of endovascular venous embolization used in the treatment of PVCS, and to present the long-term treatment results. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data of 144 female patients who underwent endovascular ovarian vein embolization for PVCS between January 2012 and July 2020 were retrospectively analysed. RESULTS: Pain management was determined to be very successful in 37 (25.6%) patients, successful in 55 (38.1%), and unsuccessful in 52 (35.3%). Treatments using a coil alone were significantly more successful in pain management than those involving the use of different materials in addition to the coil (p = 0.036). In addition, patients with unilateral insufficiency before the procedure were found to have more successful pain management than those with bilateral insufficiency (p = 0.041). Reproductive/postmenopausal state and parity did not have a statistically significant effect on treatment efficacy (p = 0.250 and p = 0.573, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Endovascular pelvic venous embolization is an important option in the treatment of PVCS due its less invasive and reproducible nature.