This article was designed as a comparative review of the literature publications pertaining to the two opposite approaches to the surgical treatment of varicose veins of the lower extremities based on the vein-sparing and radical principles. We compare classical phlebectomy (i.e. endovenous treatment of varicose veins including thermal obliteration) and the vein-savings treatment with the use of the methods for the hemodynamic correction of venous insufficiency, such as ASVAL, CHIVA, and short stripping with special reference to its location and extent. Also covered in the article is the issue of the appropriate length of great saphenous vein stripping. The authors emphasize that it should be based on the extent of reflux rather than on the desire to avoid saphenous nerve injury. It is maintained that either partial or complete preservation of the stem of the great saphenous vein (GSV) in addition to the endovenous obliteration techniques is an efficient and safe modification of the surgical intervention. Stripping is indicated when the endovasal intervention is either impossible or undesirable because of clinical, anatomical, and/or technical limitations. Short stripping in the absence of total reflux in the great saphenous vein is a safer procedure in comparison with the total extirpation of the venous stem.