Varicography in the management of primary varicose veins

Forty-nine legs in 41 patients with primary varicose veins were investigated by varicography, (direct injection of varicose veins with contrast medium). Additional features not found at clinical examination, such as reduplication of the long saphenous vein, unusual terminations of the short saphenous vein and incompetent perforating veins, were found in over 50% of the legs examined. It is suggested that varicography should be carried out in patients with primary varicose veins in whom the clinical assessment is not conclusive.