HWN Suggests

Why you shouldn’t have surgery for your varicose veins: why vein “stripping” = vein “pruning”

The downside of this procedure was that because it was an operation there were many risks including the risks of general anaesthetic and the risk of infection with hospital bugs that can be extremely difficult to get rid of. There was also the long recovery time (often 4 weeks for those involved in manual labour and usually at least 2 weeks for those with more sedentary jobs).

As if that wasn’t enough, a large percentage of people then noticed over time that new varicose veins appeared where the old ones were removed from. With the advent of Ultrasound the source of these new varicose veins could be determined and was often found to be growing from the stump of the old veins that…

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 Beware of the outdated surgery that makes varicose veins worse

Stripping usually involves the great saphenous vein, a superficial vein that runs from thigh to foot; but in many people, the body's natural healing process causes new blood vessels to form (a process called neovascularisation). 'Instead of growing back straight, these new immature vessels grow back twisty or torturous and with no valves,' says Nung Rudarakanchana, a consultant vascular surgeon at London North West University NHS Trust. As a result, the varicose veins can recur. In 2013, NICE stopped recommending stripping procedures in favour of endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) where, under local anaesthetic, a fine needle is placed into the vein and laser heat is used to destroy the wall of the vein, which the body absorbs.

 No Longer the Best Treatment Option for Varicose Veins

Vein removal surgery is appropriately called “vein stripping.” The method of vein stripping was first described by W.L. Keller in 1905 to remove the greater saphenous vein.¹ The surgery involves making incisions at the two ends of the vein and threading a special wire (the “vein stripper”) through the vein from one incision to the other. The wire is attached to the vein and ripped from the body. The vein stripper hasn’t evolved much since its inception over a century ago, but vein removal surgery became the first widely accepted approach to treat symptomatic varicose veins and remained the ‘gold standard’ until the early 2000’s.

Articles of Interest

We Don't "Strip" Veins Anymore!

Fear of old-style vein stripping has caused countless men and women to put off doing anything about their varicose veins and leg pain. If you’re one of those people, you’ll be happy to know we don’t strip veins anymore. There is absolutely no reason to live with your symptoms. And there are serious reasons to address them right away.

Ladies, stop stripping ... (your varicose veins, that is!) A leading vascular surgeon says this outdated procedure should be replaced with laser treatment

In my opinion, the stripping of veins should no longer be offered as an option anywhere. It is painful, destructive and normally only leads to the veins growing back.

Stripping varicose veins causes them to grow back

Research has shown that this treatment approach does not work and therefore the technique should never be performed. It has been proven that it causes the same veins to grow back in the medium to long term.

Treating Vein Disease with Vein Stripping

In years gone by the treatment for varicose veins was sometimes worse than the condition itself. This largely refers to vein stripping, a highly invasive procedure.

Varicose Vein Stripping – It’s not a good thing…

Varicose vein stripping is best avoided, because apart from this unnecessary pain it also involves a long recovery period, together with other associated risks.

Varicose Veins - Operation Explained

The damaged valves in the veins cannot be cured so the best way to cure the problem is to remove the affected veins. The aim of surgery is to take pressure off the skin veins in the leg, by tying and dividing (and often removing) the principal skin veins in the leg.

What No One Tells You About Varicose Vein Stripping

Today, significantly fewer vein stripping surgeries are preformed because there are simply better and less traumatic ways to treat varicose veins. More advanced treatments are also less painful and have significantly faster recovery times.

Why Is Vein Stripping Outdated?

Today, there are much less painful ways to treat varicose veins such as endovenous laser therapy (EVLT), which is minimally invasive. Patients no longer have to endure treatment that requires anesthesia. Nor do they have to leave the treatment room with large incisions that could take months to heal or could get infected. Today’s treatments are more effective, take less time, and are far less invasive.