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Pelvic Varices Embolization

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Women’s Health in Interventional Radiology

Abstract

Pelvic venous incompetence (PVI) or pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) is a disease entity that is characterized by a pain syndrome known as chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and is caused by varices. More broadly, CPP in women is defined as noncyclic pain originating in the lower abdomen or pelvis for more than 6 months in duration [1]. A potentially debilitating condition, CPP is estimated to affect as many as 39.1% of women at some point in their lives [2]. While the etiology of CPP is variable, pelvic venous incompetence (PVI) or pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) has been recognized as a cause of CPP since 1949 [3]. PVI or PCS is defined as venous incompetence in ovarian, internal iliac, or parauterine veins, resulting in increased venous filling (i.e., congestion or engorgement) and subsequent development of ovarian and internal iliac (i.e., pelvic) varicosities. The term PVI is preferred over the older name, PCS, because it more accurately reflects the pathophysiology associated with the condition.

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Acknowledgment

The authors wish to express their thanks to Ms. Shundra Dinkins for her expertise in the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Anthony C. Venbrux, Emily Timmreck Jackson & Lena Hover

  2. Division of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Amy P. Harper

  3. Department of Radiology, The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Giriraj K. Sharma

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  1. Anthony C. Venbrux
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  2. Giriraj K. Sharma
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  3. Emily Timmreck Jackson
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  4. Amy P. Harper
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  5. Lena Hover
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anthony C. Venbrux .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. I Street NW., 2121, Washington, 20052, District of Columbia, USA

    Elizabeth Ignacio

  2. , Department of Radiology, The George Washington University Medical, I Street, NW 2300, Washington, 20037, District of Columbia, USA

    Anthony C. Venbrux

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Venbrux, A.C., Sharma, G.K., Jackson, E.T., Harper, A.P., Hover, L. (2012). Pelvic Varices Embolization. In: Ignacio, E., Venbrux, A. (eds) Women’s Health in Interventional Radiology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5876-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5876-1_2

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