Pelvic Congestion Syndrome

Abstract

Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) is often an underdiagnosed cause of chronic pelvic pain in female patients with radiology detection of gonadal vein dilatation and parauterine varices. It may occur either alone or in combination with vulvar varicosities and/or lower extremity venous insufficiency. Although transcatheter venography represent the gold standard for PCS diagnosis, it is performed after inconclusive noninvasive imaging such as Doppler Ultrasound, CT scan, and MRI. Once diagnosis has been confirmed, management of PCS include medical, surgical, and endovascular therapy. Medical and surgical treatments have been shown to be less effective than transcatheter pelvic vein embolization. This latter has been proven to be a safe, effective, and durable therapy for the treatment of PCS. Numerous studies have shown their results in PCS endovascular treatment, but neither of them has been subjected to an adequate randomized controlled trial. A well-designed randomized controlled trial is urgently needed to assess transcatheter embolization clinical success.