Varicose vein stripping :

Normally, valves in your veins keep your blood flowing up toward the heart, so the blood does not collect in one place. The valves in varicose veins are either damaged or missing. This causes the veins to become filled with blood, especially when you are standing which causes all the symptoms..

Vein stripping has been used to treat Varicose veins for nearly a century. In this the large dilated saphenous vein is disconnected at the groin and physically removed by passing a stripper. Once this is done blood will flow through the normal deep vein and not stagnate in the leg . Thus the symptoms are relieved..

Before After surgery :

Vein stripping usually takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. You may receive either:

• General anesthesia, in which you will be asleep and unable to feel pain.
• Spinal anesthesia, which will make the lower half of your body feel numb. You may also get medicine to help you relax.

During surgery :

• Your surgeon will make two or three small cuts in your leg.
• The cuts are near the top, middle, and bottom of your damaged vein. One is in your groin. The other will be farther down your leg, either in your calf or ankle.
• Your surgeon will then thread a thin, flexible plastic wire into the vein through your groin and guide the wire through the vein toward the other cut farther down your leg.
• The wire is then tied to the vein and pulled out through the lower cut, which pulls the vein out with it.
• If you have other damaged veins near the surface of your skin, your surgeon may also make small cuts over them to remove them or tie them off. This is called ambulatory phlebectomy.
• The doctor will close the cuts with stitches.
• You will wear bandages and compression stockings on your leg after the procedure.

Post Surgery Care:

• You can start walking as soon as you recover from anesthesia.
• You should periodically keep your leg elevated.
• Some inflammation will be there at the operation site and along the track of the stripped vein.
• You will need analgesics for a few days to get relief from pain.
• Generally you can get back to work after a week.
• Compression stockings has to be worn for a few weeks.