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New Procedure Treats Women's Pain Caused By Varicose Veins In Pelvis

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Pelvic pain is one of the most common reasons women go to the gynecologist, but it's often dismissed as cramps, so not much can be done for it.

However, as Dr. Max Gomez reports, varicose veins in the pelvis are to blame.

"I would be walking, standing, and all of a sudden there would be intense shooting pain in my pelvic area, equal to both sides. It would feel as if there were a thousand little knives completely stabbing at my abdomen. It was enough pain that I didn't even want to breathe or move," said Mindy Dileo.

That pain would strike Dileo out of the blue and doctors couldn't figure out the cause.

Drielle Valeretto had similar pains. She said her gynecologist told her it was associated with cramps.

"They always said it's normal to have cramps during period," said Valeretto.

It turned out both women had a recently recognized condition called pelvic congestion syndrome. It's essentially like varicose veins in the pelvis, often around the ovary and uterus. Blood tends to pool in the veins, causing painful swelling and also pressing on nearby nerves and organs.

"Including the sciatic nerve, so sciatica is one of the symptoms we often see with this," said Dr. David Greuner of New York Surgical Associates. "We see pain during intercourse, horrible pain during their period, and just overall heaviness and pain while standing, typically."

The diagnosis starts with an ultrasound scan followed by a venogram, where a dye is injected and the swollen, twisted veins show up in an x-ray.

The solution is relatively simple – it's similar to a cardiac catheterization.

Greuner threads a thin catheter through a vein in the groin and steers it into the congested pelvic veins. Then a foam or other coagulating material is injected into the veins, closing them off, so the body absorbs them over a few weeks.

Dileo had it done a little over three months ago.

"Completely normal after the surgery," said Dileo. "Not an ounce of pain."

Once the congested veins are blocked, they usually don't recur, and only veins that really aren't functional get closed off.

There are still other normal veins left to drain blood, so fertility and tissues should be preserved. The cost of the procedure is about $8,000 and is covered by insurance.

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