title: Comparison of cutaneous nerve injury and vessel disruption complications following saphenous vein stripping using big or small olive heads.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the nerve injury and vessel disruption complicaitons in patients undergoing saphenous vein stripping using olive heads of different sizes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Big olive heads were used in group A (n=50) and small olive heads were used in group B (n=50) from the ankle to the groin; in group C (n=50), the vein was stripped in two sections; in an upward fashion by stripping the distal portion from the ankle to the level of the knee using small olive heads and by stripping the proximal portion from the knee to the level of the groin using big olive heads.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six months after the operation, nerve injury symptoms were identified in 26%, 4%, 6% of patients in groups A, B, and C respectively. Vessel disruption occurred 2% in group A, 32% in group B, and 4% in group C. Both vessel disruption and nerve injury complications of group C were significantly lower than group A and B (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Saphenous stripping using big olive heads for the proximal portion from the groin down to the level of the knee and using small olive heads for the distal portion from the knee to the level of the ankle is the alternative method which results in minimal nerve injury and vessel disruption.
authors.affiliation: Mustafa Cuneyt Cicek, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Konya Numune State Hospital, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa Cuneyt
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cicek
authors.affiliation: Omer Faruk Cicek, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Turkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Omer Faruk
authors.initials: OF
authors.lastname: Cicek
authors.affiliation: Gokhan Lafci, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Turkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gokhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lafci
authors.affiliation: Alper Uzun, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Turkiye Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Alper
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uzun
keywords: Varicose veins; peripheral nerve injury; surgery