EFFECTIVENESS OF PLATINUM WIRE MICROCOILS FOR VENOUS OCCLUSION - A STUDY ON PATIENTS TREATED FOR VENOGENIC IMPOTENCE

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of venous occlusions achieved by embolization with platinum microwire coils. Fo llow-up venographies in 19 patients, 1-20 months (average 8 months) af ter coil embolizations, were evaluated. Twenty-eight of 126 (22.2%) co il embolizations were found to be patent. Coils which had not formed o r partially formed upon embolization had a patency/recanalization rate of 37.5% (12/32). Among coils which had formed nearly completely or c ompletely only 16 of 95 (17%) showed venous patency. As coil embolizat ion had been augmented by sclerotherapy in all patients, the effective ness of long-term venous occlusion by platinum wire coils alone is pro bably lower than our figures indicate. We conclude that attention to c omplete or near-complete coil formation upon embolization appears to b e critical to maximize long-term occlusive effects of platinum microco ils. Their effectiveness in general, however, is lower than anticipate d.