Department of Vascular Surgery - Meoclinic Hospital Berlin

About the Department of Vascular Surgery at Meoclinic Hospital Berlin

The Department of Vascular Surgery at the Meoclinic Hospital Berlin offers the full range of medical services for the prevention, diagnostics and surgical treatment of venous diseases. Particular attention is paid to the treatment of varicose veins, which is one of the most common vein pathologies. The department also provides medical care to the patients suffering from venous insufficiency, venous thrombosis and other diseases of this spectrum. The specialists of the medical facility have modern equipment for detailed imaging of the venous system. The diagnostic protocol is based on ultrasound scanning and angiography. The department's specialists use in their work an ultramodern ultrasound device with a triplex mode, which allows the doctors to simultaneously combine several modes – color Doppler ultrasound, spectral Doppler and B-mode images. Therapeutic options include innovative minimally invasive procedures that have proven themselves in modern medicine. The department is headed by Dr. med. Pavlos Alevizakos.

The department's team of vascular surgeons often performs minimally invasive interventions for varicose veins to correct aesthetic defects. As a rule, the specialists use foam sclerotherapy and thermal ablation for spider veins. Foam sclerotherapy is the most sparing procedure. The essence of the therapeutic manipulation is the injection of a special substance (sclerosant) into the affected vein. Unlike classical sclerotherapy, the drug is mixed with a small portion of air, resulting in the formation of foam. Such an approach allows the doctors to perform sclerotherapy of small and large veins. The procedure is performed under ultrasound guidance, without the use of anesthesia. The department's doctors perform foam sclerotherapy on an outpatient basis. The advantages of the therapeutic procedure include high efficiency, minimal pain, no side effects and no scars. In addition, varicose veins often recur, and foam sclerotherapy can be successfully repeated. In some cases, the department's doctors recommend patients a combination treatment using foam sclerotherapy and surgical vein removal or laser and radiofrequency ablation.

In the clinical practice of the department, the method of endovenous thermal ablation (Venefit procedure) is also often used. In most cases, this minimally invasive procedure is recommended for patients with lesions of the great and/or small saphenous veins. Access is provided by several skin punctures with a special needle. All the therapeutic manipulations are performed under ultrasound guidance. During endovenous thermal ablation, the specialist injects a local anesthetic and adrenaline into the vein: this allows achieving vessel compression, which makes the procedure almost painless. The doctor uses a special catheter at the end of which is a heating coil that releases radio frequency energy at 20-second intervals. The therapeutic effect is achieved by blocking the blood flow in the affected vein, while the vein is not removed, but remains in the patient's body. Over time, it transforms into connective tissue. The Venefit procedure on one leg takes about 20 minutes. As a rule, the therapeutic manipulation does not leave any scars. The patient can return to his usual way of life within a few days after endovenous thermal ablation.

The department's vascular surgeons also have the necessary qualifications and experience to perform more radical interventions for varicose vein treatment. These include the CHIVA method and Babcock's stripping. These operations are quite traumatic and require general anesthesia. Therefore, they are the last-line therapy when the department's physicians are convinced that other treatment methods will not allow them to achieve a good therapeutic result.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Diagnostic options
  • Ultrasound examinations (triplex mode)
  • Angiography
  • Computed tomography (if clinically indicated)
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (if clinically indicated)
• Surgical options
  • Interventional procedures for the elimination of aesthetic defects in patients with varicose veins
    • Foam sclerotherapy
    • Thermal ablation for spider veins
  • Minimally invasive interventions
    • Endovenous thermal ablation for the great veins (Venefit procedure)
    • Microsurgical phlebectomy (vein removal)
  • Classic surgical interventions
    • CHIVA method
    • Babcock's stripping
• Other medical services