Surgery – Stripping
Excision-stripping surgery is considered to be the gold standard technique in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency.
This traditional surgical technique is performed under general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia, during a hospitalization of one to two days. Faced with the increasing incentives of health authorities, varicose vein surgery is sometimes performed on an outpatient basis, for the easiest cases.
Stripping can treat large saphenous veins or small saphenous veins. The surgeon makes two incisions, one in the ankle and one in the knee or groin, cuts the vein and removes it with a surgical guide called a stripper.
A compression by band and then by compression stockings is put in place following the operation. To reduce the risk of phlebitis, a rapid resumption of walking is advised. Patients regularly notice bruises on the thighs and legs, sometimes with hematomas or tightness in the path of the removed vein.
In most cases, hospitalization lasts only one day, but may be extended depending on the patient. The average absence from work or activity described by the health insurance is 26 days.