Summary Background Same‐site recurrence at the sapheno‐femoral junction (SFJ) takes up a large amount of the daily practice of phlebologists. Follow‐up data for high‐ligation and stripping (HL/S) of the great saphenous vein (GSV) are quite heterogenous and incoherent. This prospective multicentric study was designed to elucidate the outcome after standardized HL/S with special focus on same site groin recurrences. Patients and Methods A standardized HL/S of the GSV, including closure of the cribriform fascia, was performed. The primary endpoint was same‐site groin recurrence, assessed by clinical examination and duplex ultrasonography. Secondary endpoints were recurrences at different sites. Results 405 patients (519 legs) from six German vein centers were included. 225 patients (287 legs, 55.56%) were available for the five‐year follow up examination. 21 legs (7.32%) suffered from clinically apparent varicosis. Same site groin recurrences were detected in five (1.74%) cases, of which only two were clinically relevant. Most clinically apparent varicose veins were caused by perforator insufficiencies. Conclusions The standardized technique of HL/S including ligation of small tributaries of the common femoral vein near the SFJ as well as the closure of the cribriform fascia as an anatomical barrier shows excellent results after five years.
Hummel et al. (Sat,) studied this question.