One of the major problems with varicose vein surgery is the risk of recurrence. Recurrent varicose veins are more difficult to deal with than primary varicose veins and thus every effort must be made at the time of the primary surgery to perform an operation with the lowest recurrence rate. Despite adequate surgery, recurrence can develop via neovascularisation in the groin. This may be part of the normal wound healing process. If neovascularisation can be prevented, this may reduce the recurrence rate. However, this should not be at the detriment of healing of the groin wound.