Table 1.

Features of the various treatments now available for varicose veins^*

	Conventional surgery	Radiofrequency and laser ablation	Foam sclerotherapy
Anaesthesia required	General	General or extensive infiltration of local	Local or none
Postoperative pain and discomfort	Variable—many patients have minimal discomfort, but others are very bruised	Avoids a groin incision and causes less thigh bruising in many patients	No incisions or bruising, but veins may be lumpy and tender for weeks
Need for compression (bandaging or stocking)	Usually advised for up to 10 days but not essential	Usually advised for several days (like surgery), sometimes longer	Usually advised for about two weeks, but up to four weeks
Can both legs be treated at a single procedure?	Yes	Yes under general anaesthesia	No, usually not
Further procedures required for clearance of varicose veins?	No	Frequently, unless done under general anaesthesia with conventional phlebectomies (or sclerotherapy)	Yes, frequently
Long term freedom from varicose veins	A few varicose veins reappear in many patients: about a third have troublesomerecurrence at 10 years25	Similar to surgery up to three years. Longer term results not known	Probably similar to surgery up to three years, but may need further treatments. Longer term results not known

^*Many variations exist: for example, radiofrequency or laser treatment may be done alone or in combination with phlebectomies or sclerotherapy (conventional or foam) in a single procedure or in separate procedures. What is possible in a single session depends on the type of anaesthesia used (general, regional, or local): although varicose vein surgery is usually done under general anaesthesia, spinal or extensive local infiltration can be used.