Table 2.

Selected Studies on Transilluminated Powered Phlebectomy (TIPP).

Study Study Type No. Patients Comments
Spitz et al.2 Case series 36 Office procedure including 33 saphenous vein ablations; patients comfortable without severe pain
Cheshire et al.3 Uncontrolled study 114 All but 13 patients underwent combined TIPP with saphenous vein ablation or ligation.
  • At 6 weeks: 1 patient dead from myocardial infarction; 1 patient with deep vein thrombosis.
  • Other complications affecting limbs: nerve damage in 43; ecchymosis in 33; swelling in 20; hematoma in 14; pain in 5; cellulitis in 4
Scavée et al.4 Case series 40 More hematomas reported with TIPP compared to stab avulsion phlebectomy (57% versus 22%). No differences in pain at 7 days and 6 weeks
Aremu et al.5 Randomized controlled study 88 88 TIPP patients compared with 100 conventional stab avulsion surgery patients
  • Mean number of incisions: 5 TIPP versus 29 conventional
  • No differences in pain, bruising, cellulitis, or numbness over time
  • At 6 weeks, no differences noted in nerve injury, residual veins, cosmetic score, and overall satisfaction
Chetter et al.6 Randomized study 29 29 TIPP patients compared to 33 multiple stab incision phlebectomy patients
  • Low number of TIPP incisions, but accompanied by extensive bruising, increased pain, and reduced quality of life
Akesson7 Case series 21 Pain decreased to baseline within 2 weeks
Franz et al.8; Franz et al.9 Case series 3398/4319 Staged procedure for saphenous vein ablation patients
  • Following TIPP, 99.7% reported good outcome and procedure satisfaction
Kim et al.10 Case series 299 447 Limbs (TIPP)
  • Complications reported: cellulitis, 2.2%; hematoma, 3.5%; cutaneous nerve damage, 2.2%; seroma, 2.9%
Obi et al.11 Case series 657 TIPP with saphenous vein ablation in most patients; hematomas reported in 7.8%
Passman et al.12 Case series 169 Combined TIPP procedure with saphenous vein stripping or endovenous ablation; more hematomas with TIPP compared to stab avulsion phlebectomy
RMMJ Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal Rambam Health Care Campus 2019 October; 10(4): e0023. ISSN: 2076-9172
Published online 2019 October 29. doi: 10.5041/RMMJ.10377