Varicose vein research laboratory

Prof Mark Whiteley working in The Whiteley Clinic research laboratory for venous disease and treatment 6 Feb 2021

The varicose vein research laboratory at The Whiteley Clinic has started a new project.

Approved by UK NHS ethics committee, the project is to look how different sclerotherapy methods work on the vein wall.

By understanding the mechanism of how different sclerotherapy substances and techniques work, we can continue to improve treatments for our patients.

TWC research laboratory into venous diseases and treatments.

Testing foam sclerotherapy in veins at The Whiteley Clinic research laboratory into venous disease and treatements

The Whiteley Clinic has become well recognised in the venous world for the research it has produced over the last 20 years.

Because Mark Whiteley and Judy Holdstock were the first people in the UK to perform endovenous surgery in 1999, a lot of the early research was producing the results of treatments for varicose veins and leg ulcers.

In addition, as they developed the technique for investigating Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (PCS) and treating it under local anaesthetic with Pelvic Vein Embolisation (PVE) there are many publications from The Whiteley Clinic about pelvic veins.

However, over more than a decade, The Whiteley Clinic has been increasing the amount of basic science work related to how veins go wrong and how they should be treated. Some of this has been through the University of Surrey, but increasingly, the Whiteley clinic has been growing its research department.

This year we opened The Whiteley Clinic Research Laboratory into Venous Diseases and Treatment.

Having been granted ethics committee approval to continue our studies into the effects of venous disease and treatments on human veins, we are currently investigating the efficacy and mechanism of action of different sclerotherapy substances and treatments.

Testing liquid sclerotherapy in veins at The Whiteley Clinic research laboratory into venous disease and treatements

The aim of this project is to understand which of the substances can be used most effectively in which veins, and whether we can improve on current techniques used in patients.

The current project is being headed by an undergraduate from University of Surrey, Amy Cross, who has previously been a summer research fellow at The her research will add to The Whiteley Clinic.

Her research will add to the information that The Whiteley Clinic has already published in peer-reviewed journals, helping others to improve their understanding of treatments of varicose veins  and venous diseases like venous leg ulcers.

Previous published papers from The Whiteley Clinic related to our human vein studies:

– Ashpitel HF, Dabbs EB, Salguero FJ, Nemchand JL, La Ragione RM, Whiteley MS. Histopathologic differences in the endovenous laser ablation between jacketed and radial fibers, in an ex vivo dominant extrafascial tributary of the great saphenous vein in an in vitro model, using histology and immunohistochemistry. J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord. 2019 Mar;7(2):234-245. doi: 10.1016/j.jvsv.2018.09.017. PMID: 30771831.

– Ashpitel HF, Dabbs EB, Nemchand JL, La Ragione RM, Salguero FJ, Whiteley MS. Histological and Immunofluorescent Analysis of a Large Tributary of the Great Saphenous Vein Treated with a 1920 nm Endovenous Laser: Preliminary Findings. EJVES Short Rep. 2018 Apr 18;39:7-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ejvssr.2018.03.003. PMID: 29988869; PMCID: PMC6033209.

– Whiteley MS, Dos Santos SJ, Lee CT, Li JM. Mechanochemical ablation causes endothelial and medial damage to the vein wall resulting in deeper penetration of sclerosant compared with sclerotherapy alone in extrafascial great saphenous vein using an ex vivo model. J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord. 2017 May;5(3):370-377. doi: 10.1016/j.jvsv.2016.12.009. Epub 2017 Mar 6. PMID: 28411705.

– Whiteley MS, Dos Santos SJ, Fernandez-Hart TJ, Lee CT, Li JM. Media Damage Following Detergent Sclerotherapy Appears to be Secondary to the Induction of Inflammation and Apoptosis: An Immunohistochemical Study Elucidating Previous Histological Observations. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2016 Mar;51(3):421-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ejvs.2015.11.011. Epub 2016 Jan 17. PMID: 26790396.