Sclerotherapy for telangiectasis of the leg: Results of a 5-year follow-up

Objective: To evaluate the recurrence of telangiectases in patients who had previously been treated by sclerotherapy. Design: Retrospective single patient group study with 5-year follow-up. Setting: Centro Studi Malattie Vascolari 'J. F. Merlen', Frosinone, Italy. Patients and methods: The records of 52 patients who had been treated by sclerotherapy for leg telangiectases 5 years earlier were reviewed. Patients had been reviewed at yearly intervals. The reappearance of telangiectases at the initial treatment site and at new sites had been recorded at each review. Results: In 77% of patients studied (40/52) new telangiectases appeared. Of these, 67% (35/72) were in a different area and 56% (29/52) were in the same area (chi(2) = N. S.). In 46% of cases (24/52) telangiectases occurred both in the area treated originally and in additional areas. In 48% of cases affected by a recurrence (19/40), the additional telangiectases were of minimal extent requiring little if any treatment. Conclusions: Sclerotherapy of telangiectases treats the consequences of the disease and does not address the cause. Consequently, patients often suffer recurrence of their telangiectases. This may be regarded as an evolution of the disease, affecting new veins, rather than true recurrence. Maintenance treatment will often be required to sustain the results following the initial course of sclerotherapy.