Varicose veins surgery 16th Birthday

Varicose veins surgery – 16 years old today

Varicose veins used to be stripped, causing patients pain and bruising. Patients used to have to take 2 weeks off of work after varicose veins surgery. Even worse – the varicose veins grew back after stripping!

On 12th March 1999 everything changed. Mark Whiteley and Judy Holdstock performed the first endovenous operation for varicose veins in the UK.

The first operation was performed using VNUS closure in Guildford.  This operation completely changed our understanding of how varicose veins were formed and how they should be treated.

The advantages of the new endovenous or pin-hole varicose veins surgery were immediately obvious. Professor Whiteley started to offer it to all of his patients from April 1999 before anyone else was doing this. Compared with traditional stripping of varicose veins, this new varicose veins surgery meant:

• Tiny scars – better cosmetic result
• Minimal discomfort
• Back to normal life / work the following day

This new varicose veins surgery technique hit the press the following year http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1374873/New-varicose-vein-surgery-speeds-recovery.html

Endovenous Varicose Veins Surgery continues to improve

Following the success of the first endovenous operation, Professor Whiteley and Judy Holdstock continued to develop and teach the technique.

In 2001 they invented the TRLOP (TRansLuminal Occlusion of Perforators) technique. This is another endovenous varicose veins surgery technique for small varicose veins in the legs.

In 2005 they changed from Radiofrequency to endovenous laser. This is called EVLA or EVLT (endovenous laser treatment). In the same year they started performing all of their varicose veins surgery under local anaesthetic. Varicose veins surgery became a  “Walk in, Walk out” procedure.

The Whiteley Protocol™

Endovenous varicose veins surgery has exploded with many doctors, clinics and hospitals offering it. In addition there are many techniques and devices.

Not surprisingly, many patients come to see us who have had “endovenous surgery” performed elsewhere and who have not had a good result. When we find the caus eof failure it is often one or more of the following:

• Poor technique – often the doctor does not specialise in vein treatments
• Cheap or poor equipment – everyone likes a bargain, but in medicine you have to wonder what is being cut to get low prices
• Missed veins – many cheap clinics do quick scans and miss pelvic varicose veins or perforators – good to keep prices down but bad for recurrence. The varicose veins will just come back!

To stop these problems in The Whiteley Clinic, all patients are treated according to The Whiteley Protocol™. This is a research led method of ensuring the best results possible for all of our patients.

Advantages of endovenous varicose veins surgery

Now that we have The Whiteley Protocol™, we have found new advantages to enodvenous varicose veins surgery:

• Reduced risk of varicose veins ever coming back again
• Reduced risks of deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
• Reduced risks of nerve damage
• Increased patient satisfaction

16 years ago today, when we performed the first endovenous operation in the UK, we had no idea just what a major change this was going to make to so many patients over the following years.