TREATMENT OF VARICOSE VEINS OF LOWER LIMB; PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED COMPARISON OF RADIO-FREQUENCY ABLATION AND CONVENTIONAL SURGERY.

To compare effectiveness of conventional surgery and radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of vari-cose veins with respect to; 1) duration of procedure, 2) postoperative pain, 3) complications, 4) duration of stay in hospital and 5) return to normal routine work. Prospective comparative study in which 60 patients were divided randomly into two treatment groups-conventional surgery and radiofrequency ablation (RFA), for treatment of varicose veins, each treatment group comprising of 30 patients. The level of significance was set at a p value less than 0.05.p-value was found to be significant for duration of surgery (0.00), duration of stay in hospital (0.00), average pain score (0.00), average intake of oral analgesics (0.00), ambulation period (0.00), and resumption of normal activities (0.00) in RFA group. Complications did not vary significantly in both groups. Compared to stripping and ligation, RFA has a number of benefits including less pain and cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]