Multiple ligation of the proximal greater saphenous vein in the CHIVA treatment of primary varicose veins

Saphenous femoral disconnection is the key point of most surgical techniques in the treatment of primary varicose vein surgery. The aim of this study is to compare and analyze different techniques for conservative saphenousfemoral ligation or disconnection. These techniques can be to perform mini invasive open surgery and are suitable for implementation of the conservative hemodynamic correction of venous insufficiency (CHIVA) method. The aim was to present the follow-up by retrospective analysis of three different ligation-disconnection techniques of the proximal great saphenous vein (GSV) according to the CHIVA method at the GSV end, i.e. between the very end of the GSV and the first arch tributary, according to the CHIVA method. The first thecnique consisted of a surgical division (crossotomy). The other two consisted of triple superposed ligation with No. 2 non-absorbable braided coated suture without division labeled TSFL (triple saphenous flush ligation) and No. 0 polypropylenene ligation TPL (triple polypropylene ligation). The difference between TSFL and TPL was in the thickness and type of material of the thread, though both were non-absorbable. The follow up of 56 TPL procedures, 61 crossotomy procedures, and 82 TSFL procedures was analysed. The follow-up consisted of checking the sapheno-femoral junction occlusion with Duplex color ultra sound. The incidence rates of neovascularization (new vessels in the ligation or surgical disconnection site with saphenous-femoral reflux during the Valsalva maneuver) were: 4.9% for the crossotomy group, 6.1% for the TSFL group and 37.5% for the TPL group. The data analysed show satisfactory results with both crossotomy and TSFL. Crossotomy has proven to be an effective technique for performing saphenous-femoral disconnection, but TSFL could also be a reliable, safe and low-cost varicose mini-invasive surgery in outpatients. TPL appeared to be less reliable.