[Deep venous insufficiency and recurrent varicose veins after surgery of superficial venous insufficiency].

Combination of deep and superficial venous insufficiency is far from exceptional and often causes severe chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). Does this association increase the risk of recurrent varicose veins after surgery of superficial insufficiency? After brief clinical and instrumental considerations in this situation, four series on this topic are analysed. Those published by Almgren, Guarnera, Darke and our personal series in which valve repair in the deep system was the inclusion criteria. Among the sixty seven patients included (80 lower limbs), fifty had previous surgery for varicose veins before valvuloplasty. Recurrence rate has been evaluated in both saphenous territories: great saphenous vein: 51% and short saphenous vein: 38.5%. It appears difficult to determine whether varicose vein recurrence is related to technical error at the initial operative procedure or due to the Primary Deep Vein Incompetence (PDVI). Nevertheless recurrence of varicose vein would appear to be frequent in the four series analysed. Many questions remain unanswered in this situation.