At 3:00 p.m. (local time) on Dec. 14, Sao Tome and Principe, Dr. Yang Yi from WCH’s Department of Vascular Surgery, captain of the 17th China (Sichuan) medical team in Sao Tome and Principe (STP), cooperated with Dr. Ordaz to complete the first sclerotherapy by ultrasound-guided injection with sclerosis foam to treat varicose veins of lower limbs in Delegação de Saúde.
The patient was a 37-year-old woman who stood too much at work. She had developed extensive superficial varicose veins in both lower limbs. As the patient was unwilling to receive surgical treatment, Dr. Ordaz, a Cuban vascular surgeon who assisted in the local area, asked Dr. Yang Yi for help and discussed whether ultrasound-guided injection with foam sclerosing agent could solve the patient’s problem. After evaluation and discussion, Dr. Yang said that the treatment would work under the ultrasonic guidance.
Sclerotherapy by ultrasound-guided injection with sclerosis foam is one of the common treatment methods for varicose veins, which, however, is relatively less difficult in technology and thus can be easily widespread in African countries and regions, such as STP, with relatively backward medical conditions. After popularization and adoption of ultrasound technology in vascular surgery in recent years, ultrasound-guided foam Sclerotherapy can ensure accurate venipuncture, make drugs better distributed in treated veins, and prevent effectively serious complications caused by their straying into deep veins and arteries.
During the treatment, Dr. Yang Yi introduced the configuration method of sclerosis foam to local doctors and nurses in Sao Tome and Principe, helping to promote the concept of minimally invasive treatment of varicose veins. Meanwhile, he showed Dr. Ordaz the distribution process of sclerosis foam injected into veins under ultrasound guidance, and shared technical details such as drug ratio concentration in different situations, puncture and drug injection. The doctors and nurses from China, STP and Cuba cooperated tacitly and completed successfully the operation. Dr. Ordaz expressed sincere gratitude to the Chinese doctor for providing necessary medicines and teaching new technologies selflessly.
