As recent as twenty years ago, this was a fair statement. In the past decade alone, the advances in treatment for varicose veins have nearly rendered varicose vein stripping as obsolete. Depending on the extent of your varicose veins, you may have many treatment options available to you. Advances in managing large varicose veins include catheter based procedures that deliver heat to shrink the vessel, improvements in sclerotherapy (chemical ablation) using foamed sclerosants and enhancements in lesser invasive surgical procedures, e.g. microphlebectomy.

Advances in managing the small surface vessels of the lower extremity and above the nipple line include broadband light therapy, transilluminated sclerotherapy allowing the provider to see more disease than can be seen with the naked eye. The more advanced procedures enable quicker recovery times, better symptom control and ultimately better cosmetic outcomes. Bottom line is that there are far more treatment options available today, and far less invasive options than surgical stripping and ligation.