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Crochet hooks in varicose vein surgery.

Varicose veins have been a recognised surgical problem since the time of Hippocrates, and still constitute a substantial part of surgical practice. In the second century AD, Galen first proposed surgical treatment-tearing out veins with hooks (1). The method of multiple cosmetic phlebectomy as part of a surgical technique was described using mosquito forceps to tease out the vein (2). This technique has since been modified by the use of phlebectomy hooks. We describe an alternative to the conventional phlebectomy hook, which is substantially cheaper, easily available and may be more effective.