Iliofemoral venous stenting in patients with central neuromuscular disorders

Leg swelling in patients with various central neuromuscular disorders is a common clinical scenario and can lead to significant morbidity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a subset of patients with central neuromuscular disorders who had undergone iliofemoral venous stenting at a specialty venous clinic at a tertiary care hospital.

From January 2000 to December 2020, the medical records of all patients with a known central neuromuscular disorder who had undergone iliofemoral venous stenting for chronic iliofemoral venous obstruction were retrospectively analyzed.

A total of 42 patients (45 limbs) with central neuromuscular disorders had undergone iliofemoral stenting after failure of a trial of conservative therapy. The central neuromuscular disorders included Parkinson disease (n = 20 limbs), multiple sclerosis (n = 15 limbs), and other neuromuscular conditions (n = 10 limbs). The mean age of the sample was 59 ± 14 years. The ratio of post-thrombotic to nonthrombotic iliac vein lesions was 3:1. Most of the patients had had CEAP (clinical, etiologic, anatomic, pathophysiologic) class ≥C4 (64.4%); 25 limbs had a history of venous thromboembolism (56%). A trend was seen toward improvement in all clinical parameters measured (venous clinical severity score, visual analog scale for pain score, and edema grade) after stenting. An ulcer healing rate of ≤90% was noted after stenting. Of the 45 limbs, 24 had required some form of reintervention (53%) after initial stent placement.

Venous intervention in the form of endovenous stenting was associated with improvement in the clinical parameters for patients with central neuromuscular disorders. However, these patients should be counseled regarding the relatively higher rate of reinterventions that might be required to correct residual or recurrent symptoms.