Recurrent varicose veins: a radiological approach to investigation

Superficial venography was used in nine lower limbs of eight patients with recurrent varicose veins occurring after high ligation or stripping. This technique demonstrated four different types of recurrence and identified the cause in individual patients. The most common type of recurrence was not a missed tributary of the long saphenous or a missed perforating vein, but a tortuous leash of recanalised vein reconnecting the long saphenous and femoral veins. Implications for treatment of primary varicose veins are discussed.