Update of endovenous treatment modalities for insufficient saphenous veins--a review of literature.

Lower-limb venous insufficiency resulting from saphenous vein incompetence is a common disorder, increasing with age. For decades, surgical stripping of the great saphenous vein has been the gold standard in varicose vein treatment. The desire to optimize outcomes of treatment and reduce surgical trauma has led to the development of endovenous techniques. Today, several endovenous techniques are available to ablate the saphenous vein segments with abnormal vein valve function. In this review, we discuss the techniques, mechanisms of action, outcomes, and complications of all endovenous treatment modalities for the treatment of symptomatic lower-limb varicose veins.