Patient-Reported Outcomes and Disease-Specific Quality of Life After Surgical and Conservative Treatments for Lower Limb Varicose Veins: A Systematic Review

Lower limb varicose veins are a common manifestation of chronic venous disease and can adversely affect physical functioning, symptom burden, and disease-specific quality of life (QoL).Although high ligation and stripping have traditionally been considered standard surgical approaches, conservative and minimally invasive options, such as compression therapy, sclerotherapy, and endovenous thermal or non-thermal techniques, have increasingly gained prominence.However, comparative evidence regarding patientreported outcomes (PROMs) remains heterogeneous and dispersed across randomized trials.This systematic review aimed to evaluate randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between 2016 and 2026 that compared surgical with conservative or minimally invasive interventions for lower limb varicose veins, with particular emphasis on patient-reported and disease-specific QoL outcomes.The review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement.