[High ligation and vein stripping. The classic procedure].

The guidelines of the Society for Vascular Surgery and the American Venous Forum for management of patients with varicose veins recommend at level 1B endovenous thermal ablation for treatment of saphenous incompetence. High ligation and stripping is recommended only at level 2B. Consequently today most of the surgical procedures in the US are done endoluminally. The situation in Germany is different. The vast majority of the over 300,000 procedures done annually for varicose veins are surgical. In specialized centers in Germany, post-operative failures after high ligation are uncommon. Improper operative approaches seem likely in many of the randomized controlled trials (RCT). After proper high ligation, the results are very good.