Cyanoacrilic venous closure (CAC), using glue was introduced to phlebology about 10 years ago. Although not a new technique used in endovascular procedures, (the same product has been used for many years in the treatment of cerebral aneurysms) and it was a relatively fresh approach in the treatment of varicose veins, now dominated by thermal ablation.
So why was it introduced at all, if laser or radio-frequency ablations are so effective? The answer is simple: for a higher comfort level for the patient.
Thermal ablations require tumescent anaesthetic to protect the tissue around treated veins from burn. As CAC is a “cold” procedure, it just requires a little bit of Lignocaine at the puncture site, before cannulation. Also, the glue procedures are significantly faster to perform and don’t require compression therapy, if done without the sclerotherapy part. Overall, glue has been proven to be more comfortable for the patient undergoing the procedure.
Unfortunately, in some regions of the world, glue is met with criticism as still the “new” and “unproven” method, potentially associated with some specific complications, like foreign body reaction. Fortunately, those complications are uncommon and very rarely require any additional interventions. Also, despite some criticism, the number of CAC procedures is constantly Increasing worldwide, including Australia and New Zealand.
Until recently, we were not sure of the latest results of CAC, however in the recent Phlebology Journal, an article from Turkey (one of the biggest producers of vascular glue in the world) was published, presenting 8 years results of using VariClose on saphenous trunks. As expected, the procedure has been proven to be safe, associated with a small percentage of mild adverse reactions and high efficiency. In fact, the rate of permanently closed treated veins reached 92% which doesn’t differ from the results of endovenous thermal ablation (like EVLA) presented in other publications.
This article assures us, that in carefully selected patients, CAC (like Venaseal used in The Vein Centre) can be successfully applied with a good long term result.
Reference:
Eight year results of patients with varicose vein underwent endovenous occlusion using n-butyl cyanoacrylate
Alptekin Yasim, Erdinc Eroglu, Mehmet Acipayam, Murat Ari
PhlebologyVolume 40, Issue 6, July 2025, Pages 395-399