What are the long term outcomes of varicose vein treatment?

The long term benefits of offering varicose vein intervention are one to reduce patients symptoms and improve their quality of life and there are lots of studies around to confirm that this is the case. We also know that it reduces the number of leg ulcer recurrences that occur and it also increases the healing rate at which people can have leg ulcers. There is also evidence to suggest it reduces your chance of having superficial vein thrombosis once that vein segment has been removed. However, one of the issues with varicose vein intervention is that over time probably new veins will develop in the leg. This is all known as recurrence of varicose veins and it is no reflection on the treatment that one has already had, it's just the further development of the disease process. And patients should be aware that by the time you get to between 5 and 10 years there is up to a 20% chance that there will be some new veins that will have occurred in the leg. If these veins are symptomatic then undoubtedly they can be offered an interventional therapy.