Prevention of deep venous thrombosis post varicose vein surgery – A survey of current clinical practice in Aotearoa New Zealand

Background There remains an ongoing controversy in the prevention and management of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following varicose vein surgery. Method A 32-question electronic survey was sent out to current Vascular Surgeons and Fellow Phlebologists in Aotearoa New Zealand. Results The response rate was 32.4%. There was a significant difference in the application of pre-operative DVT scoring using the Caprini score between Vascular Surgeons and Phlebologists ( p < .001). Variation in prophylactic DVT treatment and duration of compression therapy were seen. Conclusion Further studies are warranted to address the extensive variation in clinical practice in the management of varicose veins.