Medical liability insurance claims after treatment of varicose veins

Abstract

The incidence of claims after treatment of varicose veins in the Netherlands is low. Proper knowledge of anatomy and adequate communication, along with the introduction of less invasive treatments might prevent future claims.

Patient injuries in the treatment of superficial venous insufficiency registered in Finland between 2004 and 2017

“…The incidence of SVI related compensated PIs in Finland was significantly lower than in the Netherlands where less than 7 injuries were compensated yearly per 20 000 operations, the calculated incidence of compensated injuries was less than 35 per 100 000. 9,19 In Sweden, the incidence of claims was 0.18% and the incidence of accepted claims 68 per 100 000. 17 Compensation criteria vary between countries, which must be considered when comparing results.…”

“…Similar results have been reported in the Netherlands where 75% of claims involved women. 19 This finding might reflect that SVI is more common in women, thus more operations are performed on women. 2 It is also possible that disappointing cosmetic result may motivate women to file claims more readily than men.…”

“…This corresponds to that found in the Netherlands claim study which reported 36% of patients had a bilateral operation. 19 The advantages of a bilateral operation are that anesthesia and the convalescence period only occur once. The drawback is that the operating time is longer.…”

“…Similar trends were seen in the Netherlands where 41.4% of the operations were done by registrars. 19 A majority of operations were performed by fully trained surgeons, thus a lack of experience should not be the only explanation for compensated injuries.…”

Foam Sclerotherapy Augmented Phlebectomy (SAP) Procedure for Varicose Veins: Report of a Novel Technique

“…This may reduce the associated complications related to this trauma and the risk of inadvertent iatrogenic nerve injury, which may be significant and is a major cause of litigation after varicose vein interventions. 8 , 9 Another potential benefit of the sclerosing agent is decreased blood loss and bruising, because of expulsion of blood and additional venospasm in the target veins. Any remaining vein segments that may not have been removed during phlebectomy are also sclerosed from the adjunctive sclerotherapy, optimizing treatment benefit.…”