Conclusion
Addition of glycerine 72% to foam sclerosant has a more damaging effect on human vein wall.
Methods
After surgical stripping of great saphenous veins, three equal segments were resected between two clamps. Specimen 1 was injected with saline only, specimen 2 was exposed to foam sclerosant 2%, and specimen 3 was exposed to a mixture of foam sclerosant 2% and glycerine 72%. All segments were left for 5min. Vein segments were then processed for histological and immunohistochemical study.
Results
Microscopically, haematoxylin and eosin-stained specimen 1 showed endothelial swelling, cytoplasmic eosinophilia and pyknotic nuclei. The media showed sarcoplasm vacuolisation and necrosis. Specimen 3 showed hypereosinophilic sarcoplasm of the smooth muscle fibres. Oedema was less evident, with a relative decrease in the thickness of the wall compared with specimen 2. Immunohistochemically, the expression of smooth muscle actin was weak in specimen 3 compared with specimens 1 and 2. Expression of CD31 antibody was much reduced in specimen 2 which showed conserved islands of endothelial cells. By contrast, there was a complete loss of endothelial cells in specimen 3.