The surgeon asked the patient to lie supine on the bed and elevated the leg. A tourniquet was placed around the upper thigh below the saphenofemoral junction and the patient was asked to stand up. No veins were demonstrated filling on the medial aspect of the thigh and lower limb.
The effect of the tourniquet is to compress the great saphenous vein while permitting blood to flow in the deep venous system of the femoral vein and the deep femoral vein.