Amplatzer Vascular Plug

The use of percutaneous sclerotherapy as a treatment for varicocele was first described in 1980 [5]. The most commonly used embolization method in the USA, which is the use of metal coils (Fig. 12.2), was described in 1978 [20]. Ever since, additional materials and methods have been reported including modified coils such as the new Amplatz vascular plug, boiling contrast, detachable balloons. 

The use of detachable balloons to occlude the ISV was first described in 1981 [31]. Due to a lack of FDA approval for some of the devices and manufacturer related issues, the balloons have not always been readily available in the USA. From a technical standpoint, balloons were similar to coils in that they needed to be deployed above and below collateral connections. However, since the balloon occluded the vein completely, much like the Amplatz Vascular Plug, only one was necessary at any given site. As with coils, it was common for users of balloons to perform some type of sclerotherapy on the vein segments between balloons to decrease the development of collaterals. Balloons suffered from two major drawbacks that severely limited their more widespread acceptance. The first was cost. The other was that the size of the catheter required to deliver... 

Tuite, D.J., Kessel, D.O., Nicholson, A.A., Patel, J.V., Mcpherson, S.J., Shaw, D.R., 2007. Initial clinical experience using the amplatzer vascular plug. Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology 30, 650-654. 

---