Major complications in varicose vein surgery - are the existing studies to be compared?

Although varicose vein surgery ore the most frequent operations in Germany, there ore not any reliable data to the frequency of major-complications unlike the frequency of minor-complications. With our study we wont on one side correct the data situation, on the other side we want to point out the problems and impossibility in comparing our study with the existing studies from literature or in comparing the existing studies among each other. In a prospective study we have examined 5000 (4522 legs, 3358 patients) great varicose vein operations (ligation of SF-/SP-junction +/- stripping, recurrence operation of SF-/SP-junction). Our complication rate belongs to 0.04% (n = 2) major nerval injuries. Other major-complications were not registered. A comparison of our results with those from literature is not possible because all up to now present studies (prospective/retrospective) show considerable deficits. For the same reason the studies existing up to now con not be compared with each other. The problems refer to the kinds of operations performed (great operations phlebectomy), to the operation techniques (SFJ: ligation of side branches of the V. femoralis or not, SFP: flush-ligation or subfascial ligation), to the used investigation techniques to prove/exclude thromboembolic complications, to the length of the examination period and mainly to the relation criterion. Are the registered complications related to the number of operations performed, to the number of operated legs or to the number of patients? One has to state that reliable data concerning the major-complications are missing up to now. Such data should absolutely be submitted, however.