Sclerotherapy - Foam Sclerotherapy

Foam Sclerotherapy

Foam sclerotherapy is a technique that involves injecting “foamed sclerosant drugs” within a blood vessel using a syringe. The sclerosant drugs (sodium tetradecyl sulfate or polidocanol) are mixed with air or a physiological gas (carbon dioxide) in a syringe or by using mechanical pumps. This increases the surface area of the drug. The foam sclerosant drug is more efficacious than the liquid one in causing sclerosis (thickening of the vessel wall and sealing off the blood flow), for it does not mix with the blood in the vessel and in fact displaces it, thus avoiding dilution of the drug and causing maximal sclerosant action. It is therefore useful for longer and larger veins. Experts in foam sclerotherapy have created “tooth paste” like thick foam for their injections, which has revolutionized the non-surgical treatment of varicose veins and venous malformations, including Klippel Trenaunay syndrome.