Isolated Great Saphenous Vein Stripping for Treatment of Varicose Veins in Lower Limbs

May 26, 2026 updated by: Nelson Wolosker, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein

Clinical Outcomes and Quality of Life Analysis After Concomitant or Sequential Varicose Vein Resection Following Great Saphenous Vein Stripping in Patients With Lower Limb Varicose Veins

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare two surgical approaches for treating varicose veins in the lower limbs in adults: performing varicose vein removal at the same time as great saphenous vein stripping (concomitant) versus performing great saphenous vein treatment alone.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Do clinical outcomes differ between these approaches?
  • Does quality of life improve differently depending on which surgical approach is used?

Participants will:

  • Undergo great saphenous vein stripping for lower limb varicose veins with or without simultaneous varicose vein ressection
  • Be assigned to have varicose vein resection either at the same time or in a subsequent procedure
  • Complete quality of life assessments before and after surgery

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
34

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Brazil
    • São Paulo
      • São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 05652-900
        • Hospital israelita Albert Einstein

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age between 18 and 70 years
  • Varicose veins of the lower limbs with great saphenous vein insufficiency and surgical indication (CEAP C2-C6)
  • Signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Concomitant small saphenous vein insufficiency in the treated limb
  • Previous deep vein thrombosis in the treated limb
  • Previous deep venous insufficiency in the treated limb
  • Previous varicose vein surgery
  • Previous venous interventions (e.g. foam sclerotherapy)
  • Comorbidity or condition that impairs postoperative assessment (e.g. orthopedic diseases of the lower limbs)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Conventional Group
Conventional treatment: great saphenous vein stripping + varicose vein removal
Procedure: Great saphenous vein stripping
Stripping of the great saphenous vein for the treatment of patients with chronic venous disease of the lower limbs associated with great saphenous vein insufficiency
Procedure: Varicose veins removal
Resection of visible varicose tributaries through staggered mini-incisions
Experimental: Isolated Saphenectomy Group
Saphenous vein stripping without varicose vein removal
Procedure: Great saphenous vein stripping
Stripping of the great saphenous vein for the treatment of patients with chronic venous disease of the lower limbs associated with great saphenous vein insufficiency

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of life and symptom improvement assessed by the Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS) following great saphenous vein stripping in patients with lower limb chronic venous insufficiency
Time Frame: Changes from baseline at 2 and 6 months of follow-up
VCSS ranges from 0-30; higher scores indicate more severe venous disease
Changes from baseline at 2 and 6 months of follow-up
Quality of life and symptom improvement assessed by the VEINES-QoL/Sym questionnaire following great saphenous vein stripping in patients with lower limb chronic venous insufficiency
Time Frame: Changes from baseline at 2 and 6 months of follow-up
Original VEINES-QoL/Sym converted to 0-100 scale; higher scores indicate better quality of life
Changes from baseline at 2 and 6 months of follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in the volume of varicose veins assessed by a standardized visual scoring system based on caliber and extent (score range 1-6 per vein, higher scores indicate greater burden) following isolated stripping of the great saphenous vein
Time Frame: Change in the number and volume of varicose veins in the lower limbs 2 months after surgical treatment
Change in the number and volume of varicose veins in the lower limbs 2 months after surgical treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 28, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 30, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 31, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 26, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CAAE 69606917.7.3002.0083

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data collected during the study may be available to other researchers upon reasonable request. Researchers may request access to de-identified IPD by contacting the corresponding author. Requests will be evaluated by the principal investigator.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Available upon manuscript publication and for 3 years thereafter.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

De-identified individual participant data and supporting information will be available to researchers upon reasonable request. Requests should be directed to the corresponding author (fsoaresportela@gmail.com) and will be reviewed by the principal investigator.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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