Development of a Research Agenda for Endovenous Treatment of Lower-extremity Venous Reflux: Proceedings from a Multidisciplinary Consensus Panel

Abstract

VENOUS reflux (VR) affects millions of patients worldwide and is a common cause of chronic venous disease (1). Existing surgical therapies for VR have major disadvantages, including the need for general anesthesia, potential hospitalization, perioperative discomfort, prolonged recovery time, operative risks, and high costs. In recent years, the fusion of radiofrequency and laser energy technology with advancing image-guided interventional capabilities has stimulated the development of several minimally invasive endovascular techniques capable of treating VR (2,3). However, there has been no coordinated effort to determine what basic and clinical research studies are most critical to optimally refine these techniques and evaluate their long-term efficacy. To address this important question, a multidisciplinary meeting of prominent venous disease experts was convened in October 2004 by the Cooperative Alliance for Interventional Radiology Research (CAIRR), the clinical trials network of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Foundation. The purpose of the meeting was to establish and prioritize a research agenda for endovenous VR interventions that includes basic science/ technology research, pilot clinical studies, and pivotal clinical trials. MEETING ORGANIZATION