Modified Tessari Tourbillon technique for making foam sclerotherapy with silicone-free syringes

Abstract

The longevity of foam made using sodium tetradecyl sulphate and gas (air or a CO₂:O₂ mixture) is increased significantly if silicone-free syringes are used over the normal syringes containing silicone oil lubrication. However, the plungers in silicone-free syringes start sticking after several passages when making foam for sclerotherapy, preventing the smooth injection of the resulting foam. We describe a three syringe technique which allows foam to be made using the Tessari Tourbillon ‘three-way stopcock’ principle between two syringes, but with the foam ending up in a third syringe which has not undergone multiple passages of the plunger. This allows a smoother injection of the resultant foam, which is particularly useful when injecting small diameter veins under ultrasound control.