The conventional surgical solution of primary varicose veins has been
replaced recently by the percutaneous techniques. The authors report o
n the operation and results of cryovaricectomy. The technical principl
es are the same as the formerly used percutaneous methods that is afte
r a properly executed crossectomy the authors introduce a stripping cr
yoprobe into the long saphenous vein anterogradely or retrogradely, Af
ter having the basic instrument set info operation the probe becomes f
rozen to 80 degrees centigrade below zero and the vein adhered to the
probe due to the cryoeffect will be removed percutaneously, Thereafter
the side branches are extracted by a cryoprobe of proper length in th
e same way. The operation is finished by fixing a compression bandage.
The advantages of cryovaricectomy compared to the mechanical methods
include short time of the operation, tissue protection and smaller pos
toperative hematoma.