Surgery for Varicose Veins
Surgical removal of varicose veins by the traditional method of "stripping" has been the mainstay of treatment for many years but over the last 20 years new techniques of nonsurgical treatment have proved to be superior. Both in terms of reducing the risk of vein recurrence and mitigating the inherent risks of admitting a patient to a hospital and having a surgical procedure performed in an operating theatre.
The trend now is leaning towards the use of new technologies in an office based environment which require much shorter duration of time for treatment so that patients can return to their daily activities almost immediately and start using their legs straight away - keeping downtime to a minimum.
There are several reasons for this shift from surgical ligation or stripping:
High risk of varicose veins recurring post surgery. Published studies consistently show 66% within 5 years, 75% at 8 years.
General Anaesthetic required.
Hospitalization. Inpatient procedures involving an operating theatre and then transfer to a recovery suite and then to a bed in a hospital ward have a greatly increased risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) developing - with the potential for Pulmonary Embolus, a life threatening event.
Damage to the deep venous system.
Longer recovery time.
Risk of permanent damage to the lymphatic system and cutaneous nerves of the leg.
Permanent scarring of the skin.
Wound infections and haematomas.
Please note a number of consulting practices in Brisbane and Toowoomba offer Radio-frequency Ablation and Endovenous Laser Ablation as non surgical options. However they still require patients to be admitted to ‘day’ hospital and have a General Anaesthetic. It is unnecessary to be ‘asleep’ during these procedures and maybe in some circumstance considered detrimental as you are immobilised.
If you have been referred to have your varicose veins stripped by a vascular surgeon but would like to discuss fully non surgical options - please call our clinic and speak to our knowledgeable receptionist team.
Read about Ultrasound Guided Sclerotherapy and Endovenous Thermal Ablation of varicose veins elsewhere on our website.