[Varicose veins and methods used to cut them: from the Ebers papyrus to Trendelenburg]

Varicose veins have been described since antiquity. The Ebers papyrus, dating from about 1550 BC reported this disease. Ancient Roman surgeons already performed surgical resection. French surgeon of the Middle Age, Guy de Chauliac, described, in Chirurgica Magna, bandaging for ulcers and cautery or surgical resection for varicose veins. The most remarkable texts were those of Ambroise Paré in the 16th Century, using all these techniques for surgical teaching while abandoning many medical treatments based on concepts of disease as imbalances of "humors". The end of 19th century was the start of new surgical progress with Trendelenburg, Delbert and Mocquot the development of sclerotherapy.