[Vulvar varicosity and pregnancy]

Abstract

Poorly recognised, despite being common, in particular during pregnancy and above all in multipara, this familial condition falls within the context of venous disease in general. Slight during a first pregnancy, vulval varicosities develop all the earlier and are larger as the number of pregnancies increases. They cause discomfort, heaviness in the pubic region, sometimes pruritus or even pain, which is most often relieved by lying flat. Complications, which are uncommon, may give rise to exacerbation of the clinical symptoms described above in relation with a notable increase in size and, more rarely, traumatic ruptures which respond to compression. They disappear completely post-partum. Often poorly tolerated during successive pregnancies, the symptoms of vulval varicosities of pregnancy are significantly relieved by phlebotonic agents.