What is an Ovarian Vein Embolization?


What does the procedure involve?

  • An Ovarian Vein Embolization is a procedure that involves coils or a foam sclerosing agent (or both) being inserted into the ovarian vein to "close off" the vein and prevent blood flow through it.  
  • Often the procedure involves the embolization of the left ovarian vein only.  In other cases, both ovarian veins are embolized and in some cases, the internal iliac veins are embolized.
  • The procedure is usually performed in hospital in an angiography suite, under light sedation and a local anaesthetic, with the patient able to go home on the same day.


Why is the procedure recommended?

  • It is often recommended to patients following the discovery of ovarian vein reflux, which is diagnosed by ultrasound.
  • It is used as a method to treat conditions such as:
    •  Pelvic Congestion syndrome
    •  Vulval varicies
    •  As part of the treatment of Varicose veins in the leg (however a growing number of surgeons believe that alternative methods are sufficient in treating leg veins)

Who performs the procedure?

  • It is usually performed by a Vascular Surgeon or Interventional Radiologist.

Videos of the procedure

The following video is of an Ovarian Vein Embolisation procedure (using coils).

In this video, the catheter is inserted via  the right jugular vein in the neck (this was where mine was inserted too, as I was told it's the easiest way to approach the left ovarian vein)




In the following animation, a foam sealant is used to close off the vein:



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