Management of Varicose Veins: A Survey of Current Practice by Members of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Abstract

This survey suggests that there is rationing of access to care for symptomatic varicose veins. Despite publicity for endovenous techniques, surgery remains the preferred treatment for varicose veins in the UK.

Randomized clinical trial of VNUS® ClosureFAST™ radiofrequency ablation versus laser for varicose veins

“…The primary outcome measure of postprocedural pain was clearly stated and the study was adequately powered with additional numbers built in for non-compliance and dropout. The findings were similar to those of the RECOVERY trial 1 . Both studies showed that radiofrequency ablation using the VNUS  ClosureFAST TM technique caused less postoperative pain as determined by a visual analogue scale.…”

Compression regimes after endovenous ablation for superficial venous insufficiency – A survey of members of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland

“…Nevertheless, the fact that such a variation in practice has been demonstrated, both between individual surgeons and within units, is an important finding, which would not have been altered by a greater number of responses. The results allow some comparison with the study by Edwards et al 28 in 2006, which reported that only 20% of respondents preferred endovenous techniques to open surgery, while our results show that 99% now use UGFS, endothermal ablation or both. It is possible that the respondents to this survey only represented surgeons who prefer endovenous methods: even if that were so, the results still testify to a much greater level of use of UGFS and endothermal ablation than in 2006.…”

A study to compare disease-specific quality of life with clinical anatomical and hemodynamic assessments in patients with varicose veins

“…[1][2][3] However, the evaluation of outcomes in venous disease after intervention is inconsistent. 4 In comparison to peripheral arterial disease, where objective tools are available for the measurement of disease severity and disease change (such as ankle-brachial pressure indexes), the assessment and classification of venous disease is less clear.…”