Walk-in walk-out Treatment of Varicose Veins
The Whiteley Clinic is a private Medical Facility specialising in surgical and non-surgical treatment of varicose veins and venous conditions - and is where The Whiteley Protocol™ was developed for the treatment of varicose veins.
The Whiteley Clinic introduced the new minimally invasive (or "pin-hole") surgery techniques to the UK by performing the first such procedure in the UK in March 1999.
We have continued to stay at the forefront of this revolution and have both a national and international reputation for our work and innovation. We have now performed over 10,000 minimally invasive or "Keyhole" procedures using EVLA (Laser), Radiofrequency (VNUS Closure® or VNUS Closure® FAST™ and now the new RFiTT®), Ultrasound Guided Foam Sclerotherapy (USGF), Transluminal Occlusion of Perforating veins (TRLOP) and ambulatory phlebectomy.
In addition, we perform Microsclerotherapy for Thread Veins.
We have a strong research ethic and continually introduce new techniques to our practice, once we have shown that they are effective.
Endovenous courses and thread vein courses
The Whiteley Clinic runs a series of courses throughout the year to teach doctors, dentists, nurses and other healthcare professionals different aspects of Phlebology and endovenous treatments.
These courses are run through The Clinical Exchange and include:
- Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLA)
- Radiofrequency (RFA)
- TRansLuminal Occlusion of Perforators (TRLOP)
- Endovenous observation course
- Bespoke endovenous training courses for those wishing to set up endovenous practice
Via The Clinical Exchange, we are very happy to create bespoke courses in all aspects of vein surgery and Phlebology to fully meet all of your training needs.
For further information, please visit www.theclinicalexchange.com.
The Whiteley Protocol™
Ever since we introduced keyhole surgery for varicose veins into the UK in March 1999, The Whiteley Clinic has maintained its lead in the research and development of keyhole varicose vein surgery - often called:
- minimally invasive vein surgery
- walk-in walk-out vein surgery
- non-surgical vein treatment
amongst many other, sometimes confusing and misleading titles.
With so many different techniques available, The Whiteley Clinic spends
considerable time and effort identifying which of the techniques work to the
high standards that we would accept for our patients, and in which veins
each technique is optimal.
The Whiteley Protocol™ is the
result of this work, making sure that every patient who comes to any of
the doctors in The Whiteley Clinic gets offered the same excellent
standard of diagnosis and treatment.
The Whiteley Protocol™ is used by all doctors
and vascular technologists working within The Whiteley Clinic. The Whiteley Protocol™ is regularly reviewed and updated to account for any new
techniques that prove to be successful or any research that will improve
our already excellent results.
The Whiteley Protocol™
is only available to professionals working within The
Whiteley Clinic and to patients under the care of The Whiteley Clinic.
New Procedures - Clarivein treatment for Varicose Veins
In September 2010, a new technique called Clarivein was announced in the Daily Mail for treating varicose veins. This is a brand new sort of keyhole surgery for varicose veins which, unlike endovenous laser (EVL) and radiofrequency (RF) does NOT USE HEAT.
Instead, Clarivein uses a rotating end which destroys the inside of the vein wall, and then puts sclerotherapy solution into the damaged area, making sure that the inside of the vein wall is destroyed.
Clarivein is now available for patients of The Whiteley Clinic who are suitable and who wish to have it.
However at present, there is a limit on the amount of sclerotherapy that can be given at one time - and so it can only be used for patients who have one (or two small) veins treated at one time.
Also, as we are currently waiting for results of research into how much of the vein is destroyed, we cannot be sure of the results in the long term - and so Clarivein is not included in The Whiteley Protocol™ at present.
If you are interested in having Clarivein treatment, please let your Whiteley Clinic doctor know at your consultation.
New procedures - Steam Vein Sclerotherapy - SVS
A new method of closing varicose veins using steam was announced in the
Daily Mail, October 19th, 2010. This is called Steam Vein Sclerosis (SVS).
A trial in Rotterdam was reported showing that steam destroyed the 20 veins
in 19 patients - but the one year results were reported to show that only 13
of the 20 veins remained closed.
The Whiteley Protocol™ currently uses either
endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) or radiofrequency ablation (RFA) depending
on the anatomy of the vein - and has shown to have over 99% closure of the
treated vein at five years.
All of these methods use heat to destroy the vein - but with laser or
radiofrequency we are able to measure the energy precisely put into the vein
wall, ensuring success and our excellent results.
Steam vein sclerosis (SVS) clearly cannot match these results at present,
and this may be due to the inability to ensure an exact amount of heat
energy is delivered to the vein wall.
Hopefully research will improve the results of SVS in the future, but at the
current time it is not recommended as part of the Whiteley Protocol™.
