The Service of Vascular Surgery from Hospital da Luz Vila Real , coordinated by Mário Marques Vieira , started treating patients with pelvic congestion syndrome through this innovating endovascular technique, being presently the only private centre in Portugal applying it. The pelvic congestion syndrome is a chronic disease characterized by the development of varices around the uterus and the ovaries. It affects over 30% of women after pregnancy and the most common symptom is chronic pelvic pain – pain that is aggravated when standing up or in menstruation or during sexual intercourse, being responsible for a decline in life quality and frequent resort to analgesics. Pain, leg swelling and relapse of atypical varices (in the vulvar region, in the internal and posterior face of the hips, for instance) are other symptoms. In the initial stage of the disease, the treatment may be hormonal. In cases with quite serious or persistent symptoms, the innovation achieved at the level of minimally invasive endovascular treatments , using specific materials, allows to “close” pelvic varices safely and efficiently, resolving the complaints.
