Saphenous surgery does not correct perforator incompetence in the presence of deep venous reflux

To determine which patients require subfascial endoscopic perforator surgery (SEPS) in addition to saphenous surgery to correct pathologic outward flow within incompetent medial calf perforating veins (IPVs).

Sixty-two limbs of 47 patients undergoing sapheno-femoral ligation, stripping of the long saphenous vein in the thigh, and multiple phlebectomies (n = 51), sapheno-popliteal ligation and multiple phlebectomies (n = 10), or both (n = 1) were examined with color flow duplex ultrasound scan immediately before and a median of 14 weeks (range, 6 to 26 weeks) after the operations. Indications for surgery were varicose veins (n = 47, Clinical, Etiologic, Anatomic, Pathophysiologic grades C2&3), skin changes (n = 5, C4), and ulceration (n = 10, C5).

Surgery resulted in a significant reduction in the total number of limbs in which IPVs were imaged (40/62 or 65% preoperatively vs 23/62 or 37% postoperatively, P <.01, chi2 test), a significant reduction in the proportion of perforators imaged that were incompetent (68/130 or 52% preoperatively vs 34/120 or 28% postoperatively, P <.01, chi2 test), and a reduction in median IPV diameter (4 mm, with a range of 1 to 11 mm preoperatively, vs 3, with a range of 1 to 8 mm postoperatively, P <.01, Mann-Whitney U test). IPVs remained in 8 of 41 (20%) limbs in which main stem reflux was abolished, compared with 15 of 21 (72%) limbs in which superficial or deep reflux remained (P <.01, chi2 test).

Eradication of main stem saphenous reflux corrects IPV reflux in most cases in which reflux is confined to the superficial system. However, in patients with superficial reflux that persists postoperatively, or when there is coexistent deep venous reflux, saphenous surgery alone fails to correct IPVs reflux. In these circumstances, the only way of reliably correcting pathologic outward flow in medial calf perforating veins is to perform SEPS.