Short-stay varicose vein surgery

From 1967 patients attending for varicose vein surgery at the Meilahti Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, have been operated on on the day of admission, spend the following night in the bed ward and are discharged the morning after the operation. The operation is performed under general anaesthesia with as radical approach as possible stripping the long saphenous vein and, if required, the short saphenous vein, excising the superficial side branches and ligating incompetent perforators. In the study a follow-up examination was carried out on 2334 patients. Wound infections occurred in 1.8%. Two patients had transient arrhythmia, and one a late haemorrhage. More serious complications were absent. During the follow-up period 5.2% of patients were operated on for recurrent varicose veins. 84.6% were subjectively satisfied. The number of hospital days per patient averaged 1.2. It was possible to follow the above planned course of action in 93.4%. The organization and surgical technique can be recommended in order to achieve savings in hospital days and to produce permanent and good surgical results.