The refluxing anterior accessory saphenous vein demonstrates similar clinical severity when compared to the refluxing great saphenous vein

Abstract

Objective To prospectively compare disease severity in subjects with anterior accessory saphenous vein versus great saphenous vein incompetence with an incompetent saphenofemoral junction. Methods Data were^ collected from 241 subjects and 290 limbs over a six-month period. These subjects were categorized into three groups with primary venous reflux disease, namely anterior accessory saphenous vein, great saphenous vein, and control. Statistical methods including descriptive statistics, student t-tests, and log linear modeling were employed to compare groups and determine predictive features out of the 41 demographic and disease-specific variables collected. Results Subjects in the anterior accessory saphenous vein group and those in the great saphenous vein group demonstrate statistically significant differences as compared to the control group with respect to the following disease-specific features: mean VCSS, presence of C2 and C3 disease. The anterior accessory saphenous vein group also showed statistically significant differences in gender compared to both great saphenous vein and control, as well as mean body mass index compared to the control. Log-linear modeling revealed equivalent disease severity when comparing patients with saphenofemoral junction reflux to the great saphenous vein or anterior accessory saphenous vein. Conclusions Patterns of reflux from the saphenofemoral junction to either the anterior accessory saphenous vein or great saphenous vein possess similar disease severity and commonly suffer complications of venous stasis.