Surgery Surgery is the main stay of active treatment of varicose veins in the United Kingdom. In many parts of the country however it is not available to patients on the National Health Service unless they have objective signs of skin changes or ulceration. Most surgery is undertaken under a general anaesthetic. The commonest operation involves a cut about 2.5 to 5 centimetres long in your groin at the top of your thigh and another cut about 1.5 cms long inside your knee or at your ankle. The veins major branches in the groin are tied off with sutures. The main surface vein running down the inside of your thigh is then stripped out with a special stripping tool. Many smaller cuts are also often made along the leg expecially in the calf to pull out smaller varicose veins. Most such surgery is carried out as a day case. You will need to wear tight bandages and stockings for several weeks and may need injections to treat any residual veins not adequately dealt with by the surgery. You will need some time off work but this varies widely from patient to patient. Despite surgery for varicose veins being so common there is little good research to tell how well it works. It is fairly well accepted that surgery is the most effective traditional means of dealing with varicose veins and most patients are pleased with the results. However, there are problems which include: scars; bruising; pain; time of work; risk of DVT (deep venous thrombosis); nerve injury (patches of skin numbness); recurrence, which is usually quoted as 10% but can be much higher.