Is the temperature of tumescent anesthesia applied in the endovenous laser ablation important? Comparison of different temperatures for tumescent anesthesia applied during endovenous ablation of incompetent great saphenous vein with a 1470 nm diode laser

Introduction: We aimed to investigate whether the temperature of tumescent anesthesia is important, if so, to establish an opinion about the ideal temperature. Materials and methods: Endovenous laser ablations were performed in 72 patients; 35 patients (Group A) received tumescent anesthesia at +4 degrees C, while other 37 patients (Group B) received tumescent anesthesia at room temperature. The groups were compared in terms of intraoperative pain, postoperative regional pain, ecchymosis, paresthesia, skin burns and necrosis. At month 1, great saphenous vein was evaluated for recanalization and patient satisfaction. Results: The survey on intraoperative pain showed that patients receiving tumescent anesthesia at +4 degrees C experienced much less pain. Interestingly, statistical analysis showed that this difference was not significant (p = 0.072). No skin burns or necrosis occurred in either group, whereas ecchymosis and paresthesia were the most frequently observed side effects in both groups, but no significant difference was found between the groups. There was no significant difference between pain levels on postoperative days and no significant difference between the groups in terms of satisfaction with endovenous laser ablation procedure and postoperative satisfaction. All venous segments treated with endovenous laser ablation in both groups were occluded. At month 1 no recanalization was observed. Conclusion: We conclude that the temperature of tumescent anesthesia solution is not important, while the proper administration of tumescent solution in adequate amounts ensuring delivery of the fluid to all segments appears to be a more significant determinant for the success of the procedure.