Abstract
Background: Phlebologic diseases have become extremely common and have major socio-economic impact. However, the percentage of dermatologists working in phlebology appears to be decreasing according to the data of the German Society of Phlebology (DGP). Methods: To investigate the reasons for this development, we - on behalf of the DGP - sent a questionnaire to 120 German Departments of Dermatology in autumn 2012. Results: In 76 returned questionnaires, the number of physicians with additional fellowship training in phlebology averaged 1.5; the average number of those who fulfill the criteria for training fellows in phlebology was 0.9. In 71.1 % of the departments there was a phlebologist. A special phlebologic outpatient clinic existed in 73.7 % of the departments. Sonography with Doppler (89.5 %) and duplex (86.8 %) was used as the most frequent diagnostic tool. For therapy, compression (94.7 %), sclerotherapy (liquid 78.9 %, foam 63.2 %, catheter 18.4 %), endoluminal thermic procedures (radio wave 28.9 %, laser 17.1 %) and surgery (especially crossectomy and stripping 67.1 %, phlebectomy of tributaries 75 %) were used. The average number of treatments was very heterogenous in the different departments. Conclusions: Phlebology definitely plays an important role in dermatology. Most departments fulfill the formal criteria for the license to conduct advanced training in phlebology. A wide spectrum of phlebological diagnostic and therapeutic procedures is available.
Translated title of the contribution | Phlebology in German departments of dermatology: An analysis on behalf of the German Society of Phlebology |
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Original language | German |
Journal | Hautarzt |
Volume | 64 |
Issue number | 9 |
Pages (from-to) | 685-694 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISSN | 0017-8470 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01.09.2013 |