Introduction. Varicose vein surgery is common. Worldwide, the commonest indication for this type of surgery is cosmesis. However, there are also some medical indications, including venous eczema, lipodermatosclerosis and venous ulceration. The surgery is usually straight forward and can in most instances be done as a day case. Patient and medical practitioner expectations are therefore high. Surgery in the groin is notorious for its risk of wound infection. In primary varicose vein surgery, the groin wound infection can rate can be as high as 20% 1. A more realistic figure might be approximately 10% (Sains PS, Reddy KM, Jones HJS and Derodra JK. Audit of varicose vein surgery: the patients perspective. Phlebology 2005 20(4) 179 - 182.)