Suitability of local tumescent anaesthesia for surgery of varicose veins

Abstract

Varicose veins surgery is one from the most commonly performed surgical procedures. The aim of study was assessment of suitability of local tumescent anaesthesia for surgical treatment of varicose veins. We perform the retrospective analysis of our registry of varicose veins surgery and prospective cross-matched case control study of 56 patients operated under tumescent anaesthesia or under general/ spinal anaesthesia. The following types of surgery were performed: crossectomy, phlebectomy, endovenous laser ablation, endovenous chemical ablation and saphenous stripping. Comparative study shows the better results in local anesthesia group: less pain by VAS (1,64±1,03 vs 2,21±1,17), smaller area of ecchymoses (10,61±3,7 vs 14,86±6,9 cm2) and decreased requirement in analgesics. This study found that the local tumescent anaesthesia improves early outcomes of surgery for varicose veins and may be considered as a first-line anaesthetic approach in selected group of the patients.