Abstract
All methods used in varicose vein therapy go along with a certain amount of risk.
Varicose vein surgery is widely spread, and the health risks are described at
great length in literature.
Referring to the health risks of new methods such as endovenous therapy or foam
sclerotherapy one can barely find any reliably facts and figures.
Overall, varicose vein surgery including crossectomy, stripping and phlebectomy
is accompanied with a higher risk of bleeding and postinterventional infection.
Generally, these risks are estimated to be marginal.
The risk of perioperative nerve injury appears to be similar in both therapeutic
methods. Yet the poor amount of available data regarding endovenous therapy has
to be pointed out.
The risk of postoperative thrombosis and pulmonary embolism as well as
cosmetically affecting proinflammatory hyperpigmentation appear more often after
endovenous therapy and foam sclerotherapy than in varicose vein surgery.
Complications, such as stripping of the deeper great vein or artery during
varicose vein surgery or recovered broken metal parts in the vena cava after
endovenous therapy are extremely rare events.
Nevertheless, current metanalysis rarely describe any disparity concerning
mobility, mortality and health-related quality of life by comparison to the
various varicose vein therapies.
Key words
varicose vein surgery - endovenous vein therapy - foam sclerotherapy - complications - quality of life
