Nearly every second adult in Europe suffers from ve- nous disorders. In only 15% are they considered to be venous diseases threatening the patient. The spectrum ranges from spider telangiectasia to chronic states and acute, potentially lethal, pulmonary embolism — generally described as chronic venous in- sufficiency (CVI). In vascular surgery,varicosities of the greater saphe- nous vein in particular are important. In principle,every varicose disorder leading to symp- toms such as oedema and lower leg ulcer should be treated surgically [1,4,16,21].