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Recurrent Varicose Veins and Primary Deep Venous Insufficiency: Relationship and Therapeutic Implications

Objective: Evaluation of the relationship between deep venous insufficiency and recurrent varicose veins (RVV). Design: Retrospective analysis of patients affected by RVV submitted to clinical examination, continuous-wave (CW) Doppler, duplex scanning and descending phlebography in cases of incompetence at groin level. Setting: Department of Vascular Surgery, Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata (IRCCS), Rome. Patients: Two hundred and thirty-nine patients affected by RVV. Main outcome measures: CW Doppler ultrasound, duplex ultrasound imaging and descending phlebography to assess venous incompetence. Results: Doppler examination revealed no reflux at the groin level in 80 limbs. In the remaining 166 limbs, descending phlebography showed a superficial venous reflux in 95 limbs (related to a sapheno-femoral junction recanalization or to an inadequate previous operation) while in 69 (28% of the 246 limbs examined) deep venous reflux was present (superficial femoral vein in 38 cases, profunda femoris vein in seven cases and both veins in 24 cases); in two cases reflux came from the pelvic veins. Conclusions: Our data suggest a possible role of primary deep venous insufficiency in the development of RVV and the value of descending phlebography in the planning of further surgery.