title: Great saphenous vein stripping and nerve injury: the role of stripping direction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although saphenous nerve (SN) injury represents a complication of great saphenous vein (GSV) stripping, little is know about the techniques to minimize the risk of nerve injury. This is still controversial if the stripping direction could be related to the incidence of nerve injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective comparative study to compare upwards and downwards total GSV stripping during saphenectomy with regard to the occurrence of postoperative SN injury has been designed. Electroneurogram measurement and clinical identification of nerve injury have been performed 1 day before surgery, 1 week, 12 weeks and 1 year after surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although clinical evaluation of nerve injury was found to be similar among upwards and downwards stripping both at one and 12 weeks after surgery, ENG measurement showed a higher incidence of lesions after the downwards stripping both at one and 12 weeks after surgery. No clinical or ENG findings of nerve injury was found 1 year after surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Upwards method is less traumatic than downwards total GSV stripping in terms of incidence of SN injury, as conﬁrmed by electrophysiological nerve studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Science, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy - milone.marco@alice.it.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milone
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Di Minno
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maietta
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Shatalova
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Musella
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Milone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000601:surgery*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000601:surgery*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014648:Varicose Veins / Q000601:surgery*; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014689:Venous Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology*