Pelvic congestion syndrome: what it is, what symptoms it has, how to treat it

Pelvic congestion syndrome in women: a pathology of which little is said but which is of interest in Italy nearly 250 thousand women of childbearing agewith 10,000 new cases diagnosed every year.

Characterized by the presence of varicose veins in the pelvis around the uterus and ovaries, pelvic venous congestion or insufficiency is indeed considered a major cause of pelvic pain in the female population.

THE symptomswhich often heavily affect the quality of life of women who suffer from it include severe pain in the lower abdomenwhich can increase during sexual intercoursepelvic pressure and dysmenorrhea.

To try to understand more, we asked some questions to Doctor Antonio Gaetano Rampoldidirector of the Complex Structure of Interventional Radiology of the Niguarda Hospital in Milan.

Doctor, what is pelvic congestion syndrome?
“It’s about a very subtle pathological condition with symptoms that are common to other pathologies such as endometriosis and irritable colon. The disorder is often characterized by a ache deaf, like a sort of weight, with a particular trend during the day: often in the morning he is not present but during the day is accentuated, up to even arriving in the evening to be unbearable. A typical feature is that this pain usually subsides when you lie down. At the base of the problem there is in fact a sort of venous distension that causes pain: when the woman lies down, the veins empty and the pain passes ».

How is pelvic congestion diagnosed?
«As we said, i symptoms can be confused with those of other diseases. For this reason, before proceeding with the diagnostic tests, it is essential that the doctor interrogates the patient and does them accurately describe the symptoms. It is important to ask if the pain is related to posture, if it has a temporal trend, or if it increases during the course of the day, if it is it accentuates with the menstrual cycle or if it worsens during sexual intercourseThese are conditions that should lead to a suspicion of pelvic congestion. In short, pain in the lower abdomen in a woman of childbearing age should not only lead to the hypothesis of a condition of endometriosis, fibroid or irritable colon ».

Can this disease, if neglected or not diagnosed in time, put women’s health at risk?
“There is currently no scientific evidence about it but there is a suspicion that pelvic varicocele can reduce fertility. Other complications are not found “.

In addition to pain in the lower abdomen, can there be other indicators of the problem?
«The syndrome is similar to male varicocele which, however, is easier to diagnose because in males there is a venous dilation around the testicles. In women this type of venous dilation affects the area around the uterus and around the ovaries, so it is not visible. Only in some cases, a spy of the pathology can be there presence of venous dilations at the root of the thigh or at the vulvar level“.

Source: Vanity Fair

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