Efficacy of endovascular treatment for pelvic congestion syndrome

Chronic pelvic pain is not a rare health problem among women. One of the most common causes of chronic pelvic pain is pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS). We have reviewed all medical literature on the endovascular treatment of PCS and hereby provide a brief overview of the anatomy, pathophysiology, and clinical aspects of ovarian and pelvic varices. We describe the technique of transcatheter embolization, the complications thereof and the clinical results of the treatment.

A literature search was performed using PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and Scopus to identify case series on the endovascular treatment of PCS up until the end of November 2014.

Twenty studies with a total of 1081 patients were included in the review. There were no randomized trials, and only one study included a control group. The immediate technical success rate in the occlusion of the affected veins was 99%. Seventeen studies reported the 1- to 3-month clinical success of 641 patients. Of these, 88.1% reported moderate to significant relief in the symptoms and 11.9% reported little or no relief. In 17 studies, long-term results were reported, and the follow-up varied between 7.3 months and 5 years. In late follow-up, 86.6% reported relief of the symptoms and 13.6% experienced little or no relief.

The immediate success rate for the endovascular treatment of PCS is good and the complication rate low. Most patients report relief in the symptoms for up to 5 years after the procedure. However, there are no randomized or high-quality controlled trials, and the level of evidence therefore remains at C.