[Severing of the tibial nerve with stripping of the lesser saphenous vein--a rare complication of surgery for varicosity].

Neurological complications are rare with surgery for varicosities and usually involve the saphenous, peroneal, or sural nerve. When the saphenous vein is stripped in the popliteal region, there is danger of tibial nerve injury due to the topographic situation. We report a serious complication involving an iatrogenic extended lesion of the tibial nerve in the popliteal fossa that occurred in the course of a crossectomy and exeresis of the lesser saphenous vein. The complicated microsurgical reconstruction of this complex nerve injury is described, and the causes and errors leading to it are analyzed.