Prevention of deep venous thrombosis post varicose vein surgery - A survey of current clinical practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.

BackgroundThere remains an ongoing controversy in the prevention and management of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following varicose vein surgery.MethodA 32-question electronic survey was sent out to current Vascular Surgeons and Fellow Phlebologists in Aotearoa New Zealand.ResultsThe response rate was 32.4%. There was a significant difference in the application of pre-operative DVT scoring using the Caprini score between Vascular Surgeons and Phlebologists (p < .001). Variation in prophylactic DVT treatment and duration of compression therapy were seen.ConclusionFurther studies are warranted to address the extensive variation in clinical practice in the management of varicose veins.