RESUMO
Introduction: Varicose veins of the lower extremities are one of the most common peripheral vascular diseases. A variety of treatments methods have emerged as an alternative to traditional surgery but are limited by their need for equipment and expertise which increases the cost of treatment making it unviable especially in rural India. Thus traditional surgery still forms the mainstay of treatment. Aims: To evaluate and compare the outcomes in patients undergoing Trendelenberg’s procedure with stripping and without stripping of varicose veins. Materials and methods: The study comprised of 50 patients who were admitted with varicose veins. They were allocated into two groups of 25 each where they either underwent Trendelenberg’s procedure with stripping or without stripping of varicose veins. The patients were followed up for six months to assess the efficacy of the procedure as per the parameters of the study. Results were analyzed using SPSS software. Percentages and proportions were used for qualitative data; mean and standard deviation were used for quantitative data. Chisquare test and student t test were applied where appropriate. Results: In the group undergoing stripping, 28% (7 of 25) patients developed hematoma, post operative pain scores on day 0,3,7 and 10 were 3.8±0.9, 2.6±0.7, 1.1±0.6 and 0.2±0.4 respectively. Mean post operative ambulation was achieved on 3.88 days and recurrence at 6 months was seen in 12% (3 of 25) patients. In the group undergoing ligation alone, 4% (1 of 25) patients developed hematoma, post operative pain scores on day 0,3,7 and 10 were 3.0±0.8, 1.6±0.8, 0.8±0.5 and 0.1±0.3 respectively. Mean post op ambulation was achieved on 2.16 days and recurrence at 6 months was seen in 20% (5 of 25) patients. Conclusions: With lesser rates of hematoma formation, better post operative pain scores and quicker ambulation in patients undergong ligation of veins alone, we conclude that Trendelenberg’s procedure without stripping is a better procedure than Trendelenberg’s procedure with stripping of veins in the treatment of varicose veins.