Varicose vein surgery

Before the operation your surgeon will mark the vein and decide where to make an incision to access it. The incision may be made in your groin or at the back of the knee depending on where the varicose veins are.

Once you are in the operating theatre, the surgeon will make the primary incision to access the saphenous vein and may make a number of other minor incisions to separate the superficial veins from it. Having done that, a special tool is used to grip and 'strip out' the vein. The primary incision will then be closed by a couple of stitches and your leg dressed with a tight bandage to help reduce the swelling and bruising. The procedure usually takes about an hour for one leg.

You will need to stay in the hospital for a few hours or overnight depending on when during the day the surgery is performed, whether it is done under general or local anaesthetic and whether you have had one leg or both legs treated. You should not expect to drive home. Your consultant will explain all of this at your consultation.

Following surgery you should expect to continue to wear the compression bandage for about ten days and to return to normal activity after about two to three weeks