Traditional High Tie, LSV strip and avulsions for Varicose veins

If you would like to see Mr Braithwaite as a Private Patient for Traditional or other varicose vein treatment, please contact him at either the 

Park Hospital or Nottingham Nuffield.

What happens when I have a traditional 'high tie' operation?

This is the most frequently performed operation in the NHS. Until the introduction of new techniques, this is the way that most patients have had their varicose veins treated.

The operation is normally done when you are asleep with a General Anaesthetic or under spinal or epidural anaesthetic (awake but numb from the waist downwards).

The technique used by Mr Braithwaite involves a cut between 2 and 5cm long in the crease of the groin. This leaves an almost invisible scar in the crease at the top of the thigh. The varicose vein in the groin is tied off to prevent blood running in the wrong direction in the leg. The long saphenous vein (the main vein causing the varicose veins) is then removed using a special device - stripping the vein. Some techniques use an olive-like device that helps to strip the vein out. Mr Braithwaite thinks this method increases the chances of nerve damage. He uses a method that turns the vein inside out. The aim is to remove the vein without damaging the saphenous nerve.

The stripped vein is usually removed through a 0.5cm cut around the knee area on the inside of the thigh or calf. The cut is made in one of the creases of the skin to minimise the effect of scarring.

All the wounds are closed with a dissolving (absorbable) stitch that does not need to be removed.

Local anaesthetic is put into the cuts so that there is very little pain when you wake up.

After the vein has been removed, Mr Braithwaite then treats the lumpy veins in the calf and thigh by a treatment called vein avulsions.

Are there any alternatives to Stripping?

Apart from conventional surgery, 70% of varicose veins can be treated with  techniques called VNUS, EVLT or Varicofoam

Are there any risks to vein surgery?

Yes. Please click here to see the risks of vein surgery

For a summary of options to help choose your treatment, click here.

If you would like to see Mr Braithwaite as a Private Patient, please contact him at either the Park Hospital or Nottingham Nuffield.