Free online vein screening - VeinScreening.co.uk

We are proud to launch our Vein Screening website - www.veinscreening.co.uk.

.


This is a FREE online service where people worried about their legs, with:

• varicose veins
• aching legs
• swollen ankles
• thread veins
• discoloured skin at the ankles
• leg ulcers
• itching skin on the legs

can get a free assessment and advice as to whether they might need further investigation.

As so many people get incorrect or out-dated information about varicose veins and venous conditions, we hope that this will be a major advance for people wanting to look after themselves.

RFiTT in Grazia magazine

This week Grazia magazine is running an article on the new RFiTT technique for treating varicose veins - and it quotes Mark Whiteley whose clinic has been doing research to improve the results of this technique.

RFiTT is a radiofrequency device that is used through a keyhole (or pinhole) approach, that closes Varicose Veins using heat. The treatment is all controlled by ultrasound to make sure that the target vein is completed destroyed.

Research on RFiTT performed this summer at The Whiteley Clinic by George Badham - Whiteley Clinic research fellow - won 3rd Prize at the IVEC and ISVS in Milan, in October this year.

Hand veins - Endovenous laser closure of hand veins

Prominent hand veins have always posed a problem for venous surgeons. Many patients ask for treatment for prominent hand veins - but until recently, very little has shown to be effective or cosmetic.

A recent advance in removing these hand veins has been "endovenous laser ablation of hand veins".

This afternoon, two cases were performed by Mark Whiteley at Absolute Aesthetics (www.AbsoluteAesthetics.co.uk) the aesthetics division of The Whiteley Clinic.

Using only local anaesthetic, the whole procedure took about 30-45 mins. The patients came in an hour before the surgery for marking and anaesthetic cream to the skin.

The procedure itself was performed in a walk-in walk-out local anaesthetic theatre - with pinholes only where the laser fibre was inserted into the veins.

Both patients were discharged home without any complication wearing compression gloves which they were instructed to wear for one week.

The advent of endovenous ablation of unwanted hand veins is a major step forward in hand rejuvenation. When used in combination with our other techniques such as hyaluronic acid filler for bony hands and IPL or skin preparation creams for sun damage, hand rejuvenation should now become much closer to the ideal that patients want.

Endovenous laser ablation of hand veins under local anaesthetic is now available at Absolute Aesthetics as part of a hand rejuvenation package.

Steam vein sclerosis - SVS

A new technique is being reported for the treatment of Varicose Veins (Daily Mail, 19th October 2010) called Steam Vein Sclerosis (SVS).

This technique follows the same principles of Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLA) and Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) of varicose veins - but claims to be quicker.

It is well understood that heating veins destroys them permanently - and with Laser and Radiofrequency Ablations this heat energy can be measure precisely - a measurement called the LEED (Linear Endovenous Energy Density).

The potential problem with the steam is that it would appear difficult, if not impossible, to measure this energy given to the vein wall.

This might the reason that the report says that only 13 of the 20 veins remained closed after 1 year - very poor results compared to The Whiteley Protocol (which uses EVLA or RFA depending on vein anatomy) which has shown closure rates of over 99% at 5 years.

It will be interesting to see if research can improve on these results.

New video - Botulinum Toxin treatment for under arm sweating

Whiteley Clinic paper on clots (Thromboses) after keyhole surgery for varicose veins

Today we pulished some of our old data as to how rare clots and DVT are after the Whiteley Clinic keyhole techniques for varicose veins.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) after Venous Thermoablation Techniques: Rates of Endovenous Heat-induced Thrombosis (EHIT) and Classical DVT after Radiofrequency and Endovenous Laser Ablation in a Single Centre.
Marsh P, Price BA, Holdstock J, Harrison C, Whiteley MS.
Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2010 Jul 22. [Epub ahead of print]

Now that our techiques are all walk-in, walk-out local anasethetics procedures, the risk of clots have fallen even lower.

International prize for Whiteley Clinic research student in Milan

George Badham, the Whiteley Clinic Venous Research Fellow summer 2010, won the prize for third place at the International Vascular and Endovascular Course (IVEC) and the European Congress of the International Society of Vascular Surgery (ISVS) in Milan with his presentation about treating varicose veins using the keyhole surgery technique RFiTT.



George, who is a third-year medical student at Cardiff University, was the only medical student presenting, with all of the other presenters in the prize sessions being qualified doctors specialising in vascular surgery. Despite being over a decade younger than the other presenters shortlisted for the prize, the quality of Georges research and his excellent presentation to an international audience of vascular experts, secured him enough votes to win third place.





The Whiteley Clinic has a strong research tradition and offers research projects to students who wish to get to medical school, medical students and also junior doctors. Each year, one or two applicants are accepted and are given one or more projects to complete, depending on the time they have available and also their own motivation.

Despite careful supervision, not all research fellows manage to get their research completed. It takes considerable dedication to see a research project through to completion and then on to presentation and publication.





This summer, two research fellows were appointed, both of whom are exceptionally hard workers and have completed their projects.

George Badham's research was a study using a benchtop model to simulate keyhole treatment of varicose veins using the RFiTT technique. He showed that the technique that had been originally recommended by surgeons elsewhere in this country and Europe had inadequate affect, making the technique appear less successful than it could be.





With his supervisor, Mark Whiteley, they developed and prove that changing the power settings and the technique of applying the power to the vein resulted in optimal conditions likely to destroy any vein treated this way.

This project will be submitted for presentation in the UK to inform UK surgeons how best to use this technique, and hopefully this presentation will be in the first half of 2011, depending on which meeting it is presented at.

The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the near future.


Mark Whiteley was also an invited lecturer at the same meeting, speaking on the current thoughts on Foam Sclerotherapy in the treatment of varicose veins.

George Badham at IVEC and ISVS Milan

This morning, George Badham - Whiteley Clinic Venous Research Fellow Summer 2010 and Cardiff Medical Student - lead the discussion into the treatment of Carotid Stenoses at the IVEC (International Vascular and Endovascular Course) and European Congress of the ISVS (International Society for Vascular Surgery) in Milan.



The picture shows George posing his question that lead the discussion following a series of presentations by world experts in Carotid disease - including Carlos H Timaran (Dalla, Tx, USA), Michel Henry (Nancy, France), Sumaira MacDonald (Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK), Alison Halliday (London and Oxford), Gaetano Deleo (Milan, Italy) and Klaus D. Mathias (Dortmund, Germany).


The panel for the session was made up of President: Giancarlo Bracale (Naples, Italy) with Chairpersons: Ali Abu Rahma (Charleston, WV, USA) and Maria Grazia Bordoni (Milan, Italy) with Discussant: George Badham (Guildford, UK).

Mark Whiteley is a member of the faculty and wil be giving his invited lecture on Foam Sclerotherapy for the treatment of varicose veins tomorrow. George Badham will be presenting his research into radiofrequency treatment of varicose veins in the free paper session, also tomorrow morning.

Leg ulcer healed at The Whiteley Clinic

Guildford Rugby - Sponsored by The Whiteley Clinic

Guildford Rugby Club (team picture left) recorded another win this weekend:

Guildford 29 - 27 London Cornish

This has put Guildford 2nd in their league - London 2 South West - Level 7 of the whole RFU.

With plans to raise the final money for new facilities, Guildford is a club really starting to move upwards and forwards.

Embarrassing Bodies - Channel 4 - Laser Sweat Ablation

This evening Mark Whiteley was featured performing an operation for arm-pit sweating (axillary hyperhidrosis) on Embarrassing Bodies - Channel 4.

Faye, the patient, was a 19 year old girl who had previously been on Embarrassing Bodies with axillary hyperhidrosis. She had been sent for Botox - which had only worked for 6 months each time.

She wanted a permanent cure - so she was referred to Mark Whiteley at The Whiteley Clinic for Laser Sweat Ablation. She had this walk-in walk-out procedure under local anaesthetic and was on her way home 2 hours later.

On Embarrassing Bodies she said how pleased she was with the result. She had 2 tiny scars on each side, did not have to worry at all about sweating anymore and had gone out and bought a whole new wardrobe of clothes!!!

Laser Sweat Ablation was introduced into the UK by Mark Whiteley who performed the first Laser Sweat Ablation procedure on 5th March 2009. He and his researcher, Sophie Strong, are continually modifying and improving the LSA technique to improve the results.

Tetren - Game by Andrew and Mark Whiteley and friends from 1992

Andrew Whiteley, Mark Whiteley's brother, wrote a computer game in 1992 called Tetren. Andrew did all of the programming, Mark Whiteley drew and animated all of the graphics and Mike Kingham composed the music.

Many hundreds of people played the game via shareware and contacted us to say how much they loved it.

As it was written for the Amiga 500 computer, it has not been available to run on modern computers for many years. However, with a new emulation program, Tetren can now be played on normal modern computers!!!

If you would like to play - click on the two links below and save them to your desk top. One is a zip file which contains all of the files that you will need - the other is a set of instructions on how to get Tetren working.

We all hope that you have as much fun as we had so many years ago.

Click here to download Tetren and Program to run it

Click here to download instructions on how to run and play Tetren

Channel 4 - Embarrassing Bodies - Friday 8th October 2010 - 9pm

Marverick TV have informed us that Mr Mark Whiteley will be featured on Embarrassing Bodies this week, performing a Laser Sweat Ablation (LSA) procedure,

Mark introduced the LSA procedure to the UK in March 2010 and has been the leading practitioner in this area of surgery ever since.

Results and information about LSA can be seen on http://lasersweatablation.blogspot.com and www.lasersweatablation.co.uk

Vogue - November 2010 Edition

Mark Whiteley appears in the new edition of Vogue - which is just hitting the news stands.

The article appears in the Beauty section - under "Legs" - where Mark Whiteley is recommended for getting rid of varicose and thread veins.

Guildford Rugby beats Twickenham

Guildford Rugby club beat Twickenham yesterday in an away match, 17 - 10.

This vitory puts Guildford RFC in second place in the league.

As a major sponsor of Guildford RFC, The Whiteley Clinic is thrilled by their continuing success.

Click here to see League Table:

Roko cancer appeal

This evening Mark Whiteley (The Whiteley Clinic) and Vicki Smith (Absolute Aesthetics) were sponsors and guests of the Roko Cancer fund-raising event in London (www.rokocancer.org)

Mark And Vicki sat on the top table with Lord and Lady Sheikh, Dr Vince Cable MP and Steven Timms MP and his wife.

The evening was a great success - largely due to the efforts of Nikki Hubbard.

Lord Shiekh and his wife were fantastic company and were both tremendous entertainment for all at the event. Sue Hill (Detective Chief Superintendent in her other life) was a fabulous auctioneer.

The founder of the charity, Mr. Ajinder Pal Singh Chawla was a lovely host, introducing all of his guests and adding a serenity to the proceedings which added to a very special evening.

UK research centre for Liposonix - Ultrasound Fat Reduction

We are delighted to have received confirmation of Ethics committee approval today for our research project into the efficacy of the Liposonix ultrasound fat removal system - also called "Non-invasive liposuction" or "Ultrasound Liposlysis" (see below for link to explain more about the Liposonix system.

We are performing the research through Absolute Aesthetics, the Aesthetic division of The Whiteley Clinic.

There are international 5 centres involved in this research project, with Absolute Aesthetics at The Whiteley Clinic being selected as the UK centre.

http://www.ultrasoundliposuction.co.uk/.

Excessive water drinking and sweating

Today an article on the modern trend to drink far too much water was published with one of the consequences - excessive sweating. Normal people do NOT need 2 - 3 liters of water per day IN ADDITION to all of the water they get from their food and other drinks. However, you can't go through town without seeing someone taking a water bottle out of their bag and taking a swig every few minutes.

Click here to view article.

Guildford Rugby Club - September Lunch and Match

On Saturday 25th September, we were treated to a great afternoon of Rugby at Guildford Rugby Football Club - with Guildford winning with a staggering 62 - 6!!!

This puts Guildford 3rd in the table in their division:

For RFU table - click here

As The Whiteley Clinic sponsors Guildford Rugby club, we took several guests to the pre-match lunch - and were then joined by other friends and colleagues for the match itself.

Below are a selection of photos from the day:



Picture of Guildford 1st XV player with Whiteley Clinic logo on arm




Lucy Whiteley attending her first Guildford Rugby Club match



Jo and Eberhard Methke with Liz Smith before the lunch .....



Bryn Edwards and Dr Mark Jenkins having pre-lunch drinks ....



Bill and Brenda Holman chatting with Vicki and Graham Smith in the lovely Guildford Rugby bar - which is very homely and boasts an open fire ......



Lucy Whiteley as asked to draw the winners of the lunchtime raffle.

The Guildford right wing was pulled down just short of the try line.

Another successful conversion - the Guildford kicker adding 2 more points with an excellent conversion.

The Whiteley Clinic Select Stakes - September 2010

The Whiteley Clinic Select Stakes - Goodwood September 2010



Gemma Hughes, Vicki Smith, Cathy Lopez ....

Mark and Judy Holdstock, Gemma Hughes, Vicki Smith, Debra Kehoe, Jim Kehoe ....

Dee Kerrigan, Jo Methke, Nancy Bruce, Matt Jago, Clare Read ....

Dee Kerrigan, Bryn and Mary Edwards .....

Judy and Mark Holdstock, and Barrie Price ....

Mark Whiteley presenting prizes on Channel 4 .....



and again ......

Matt Jago, George Badham and Emily Whiteley ....

Tony Lopez and Vicki Smith .....

Catherine Clapp, Ian Clapp and Mark Whiteley.

The Weekly Wrinkle

There is a lovely article on Mark Whiteley in the weekly wrinkle today :

http://www.weeklywrinkle.com/editorial/dare-to-bare/

all about thread veins and hidden underlying varicose veins that are only found if you scan for them.

The Whiteley Clinic Select Stakes

On Channel 4 - Saturday 11th September 2010 - The Whiteley Clinic Select Stakes.

Mark Whiteley will be presenting the prize to the winner and choosing the best turned out horse.

Clarivein for varicose veins

This week there was an article in the Daily Mail about a new catheter based sclerotherapy technique for varicose vein treatments called "Clarivein".

We have had many people contacting us at The Whiteley Clinic asking if we recommend this technique, how it works and if we provide Clarivein for the treatment of varicose veins.

From the information available from the company, a study in the USA has shown that treated veins are "occluded" in 29 of 30 people treated in the short term. However there is no information as to whether this "occlusion" is just due to the veins having blood clots in it, or if it has been successfully closed by destroying the wall.

Research and experience on sclerotherapy in big veins shows that big veins treated with sclerotherapy often appear "occluded" in the short term, but the clots dissolve over several months meaning that the veins open up again and the varicose veins return.

The Clarivein technique is sclerotherapy but it also adds a catheter that rotates, spreading the sclerotherapy inside the vein and maybe damaging the wall. This might improve the expected results from this technique - however there is no evidence available at the moment that the vein wall is damaged enough to cause a permanent closure of the vein.

EVLA (Laser) and Radiofrequency Ablation (RFiTT and VNUS) - when used correctly under local anaesthetic - have all been shown to close the vein wall permanently without causing clot in the vein - giving excellent long term results. Hence we offer all f these techniques to suitable patients.

As a specialist clinic we are committed to only offering our patients treatments that our experts are convinced give the best possible results - either by studying our own research or studying the research performed by others.

At the time of writing this, and on the information provided to date, we are not happy to offer Clarivein to our patients unless as part of a study. We have asked the distributor of Clarivein in the UK to provide answers to questions which would allow us to be able to assess whether this technique is likely to have good long-term outcomes. Unfortunately, although we have had replies, we have not had answers to the questions that we have posed.

Therefore at the moment, although Clarivein is clearly a novel idea, our experts have some concerns as to the long-term efficacy of sclerotherapy treatments in large veins and therefore we need have several scientific questions answered before we will be happy to offer its to our patients.

If we would receive any further information to answer questions, or if we start any research of our own into this product, this will be announced on our website and on this blog.

"The Vein Vanisher" in Marie Claire Magazine, Oct 2010

There is a very nice article on Mark Whiteley as the "Vein Vanisher" in the October edition of Marie Clarie magazine.

Mark's expertise as a vein expert is highlighted with contact details.

Research accepted for Milan meeting

Mark Whiteley has been invited to be a guest lecturer at the IVEC / ISVS meeting in Milan in October, speaking about Foam Sclerotherapy for Varicose Veins.

George Badham, a second year Medical Student who spent the summer doing research into Varicose Veins at The Whiteley Clinic, has had his research accepted for presentation at the same international research meeting.

Click here to see program

Mark Whiteley - talk 77
George Badham - PF 20

Mark Whiteley in Vogue blog

There was a very nice mention about Mark Whiteley and his work on varicose veins in the Vogue blog:

http://www.vogue.co.uk/blogs/the-vogue-beauty-blog/articles/100810-bare-necessities-.aspx

Mark Whiteley - Called "Dr Leg" - Article in the Evening Standard

There was an excellent article on Mark Whiteley and hie revolutionary ideas and treatments of varicose veins this week:


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/health/article-23860787-keep-the-blood-flowing.do

Marshall Protocol to treat chronic diseases

People suffering from chronic diseases have had to rely on Steroid adn Methotrexate for yours.

These drugs do not cure - they merely damp down the immune response - often with horrible side-effects.

The Marshall Protocol has been used now for years in the USA, curing people who previously were thought to be "incurable".

Now there is a new blog starting from a UK girl who has been going through the Marshall Protocol herself - it is well worth following: http://memyselfandmicrobes.blogspot.com/

New research fellow into Varicose Veins

We are delighted to have George Badham, a second year medical student, join us for this summer as our veins research fellow.

George is spending the summer working at The Whiteley Clinic. His research is aimed at improving our understanding into our keyhole techiques for treating varicose veins.

His work will be presented both nationally and internationally - and will then be published.

As his work progresses, the results of his research will be used to continualy improve our treatments a keep us in our position at the forefront of venous surgery.

The Telegraph Magazine

We are delighted with the article in The Telegraph Magazine today entitled "Pioneering help for Veins".

Page 21, The Telegraph Magazine, 10 July 2010.

Article in The Times - Treatment of Excessive Sweating

Today there was a very good article on the treatment of excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) in the Times.

The article ran through the GP view of excessive sweating, the hormone expert's view (endocrinologist) and then the Surgeons View on how to treat it.

Mark Whiteley was the surgeon interviewed. He is quoted talking about his treating of underarm sweating with botulinum toxin for temporary relief and then LSA (Laser Sweat Ablation) for the permanent cure of underarm sweating.

The Times: Tuesday July 6, 2010. Page 8

Embarrassing Bodies - TV

Well it has been so very busy that we have fallen behind with keeping up with this blog.

Today we filmed a case of Laser Sweat Ablation (LSA) the treatment for under-arm sweating that was brought into the UK by Mark Whiteley in March 2009, for the TV show "Embarrassing Bodies".

The case went very well and the patient left very happy.

Hopefully the film will reach the TV screens in the not to distant future.

10,000 th Patient at The Whiteley Clinic - News Story

Having been lecturing in Europe for the last 10 days, it was very pleasing to see the news story about our 10,000th patient:

http://www.guildfordeye.com/visitor/news/more.detail/news.php?record_id=471

In the same month that we had our 10,000 th patient come to see us, we also performed our 4,000 th local anaesthetic procedure at The Whiteley Clinic, keeping us at teh very forefront of excellence in walk-in walk-out varicose vein surgery.

The A List: Leg Experts - Harpers Bazaar

Mark Whiteley was delighted to be announced in Harpers Bazaar (June 2010) as the varicose vein and thread vein expert.

Harpers Bazaar produced "The A-List: Leg experts" which covered all areas of treatments to improve legs - including sections on cellulite treatment, toning and leg shaping.

The section on Mark Whiteley quotes the fact the he is a leader in the field and the techniques that he has developed or invented and brought to The Whiteley Clinic not only give the best possible results, but have the lowest chances of allowing veins to return in the future.

Please see Harpers Bazaar, June 2010, page 156

Chess for relaxtion

Another very busy week!! However I have re-started playing chess for relaxation.

I play chess at Chess.com!

MrSurgeon
Rating: 1472

Challenge me!

View my games

Clincial Exchange - Teaching Office Based Veins Surgery

This weekend Mark Whiteley from The Whiteley Clinic and Matt Jago, from the Clinical Exchange, are at The Charing Cross Vascular Symposium, showing the new traing available through The Clinical Exchange.

Courses being offered are:

Veins:

• EVLA (Endovenous Laser Ablation) both introductory and advanced courses
• RFA (Radiofrequency Ablation)
• TRLOP (Transluminal Occlusion of Perforators)
• Foam Sclerotherapy
• Ambulatory Phlebectomies
• Thread vein courses

Non-vein courses:

• Laser Sweat Ablation (LSA)

For more details www.theclinicalexchange.com

Tatler's "go to guy for vein free legs"

Mark Whiteley was highlighted in Tatler's Beauty and Cosmetic Surgery Guide 2010, that is included in the May edition of Tatler.

Under the heading of "Spider Veins" Mark Whiteley was given a 10/10 ranking for his results and it was noted how Mark and his team are very thorough in looking for underlying causes for the spider veins, to ensure complete treatment and the best possible results.

In the "Carry on, Doctor" section, Mark is recommended as "Best for Legs" and is called the "go-to guy for vein-free legs".

"Top Treatment" in The Daily Mail

Yesterday, The Whiteley Clinic was quoted in the Daily Mail as the Top Treatment choice by Eve Cameron, one of the top beauty editors in the UK.

A selection of the top beauty editors were asked for their top treatments - and least favorite treatments - and the results were published. Eve quoted our treatment of her varicose veins as her "Top Treatment" and also said it was "the most life changing thing" that she had done:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1262706/Secrets-experts-Which-treatments-beauty-editors-recommend--NEVER-again.html

Whiteley Clinic director in the Press

Vicki Smith, the aesthetics director of The Whiteley Clinic, was featured in the South East business magazine in their "Boss" feature.

See page 18:

http://migration.edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=3&refresh=M0y51i7Z8Gf1&EID=2669feb2-19f1-49cf-b971-206eca7bd873&skip=true&p=3

Many congratulations to Vicki on her recognition.

Bernie Nolan opens the new Absolute Aesthetics

Last night, Bernie Nolan (of the Nolan Sisters and star of "Popstar to Opera Star") was our special guest.

We had a second birthday party for Absolute Aesthetics (www.absoluteaesthetics.co.uk) which is the aesthetics division of The Whiteley Clinic, and also combined the celebration with the opening of our new Absolute Aesthetics building.

Absolute Aesthetics, based in Stirling House in Guildford, now has a "first class lounge" type frosted glass entrance, leading into a relaxing area for clients to have coffee, tea or other drinks, whilst reading papers, magazines or having a chat - and two new treatment rooms lead directly off to this area providing some of the latest treatments in aesthetic medicine (Thermage, Liposonix, fillers, IPL etc) as well as mole screening for people who worry about moles and melanoma.

The party was hosted by Vicki Smith, the director of Aesthetics at The Whiteley Clinic, who introduced Bernie Nolan. Bernie was utterly delightful, making everyone laugh not only with her very witty speech, but then spending the evening mixing with all of our guests and attending our demonstrations of IPL, advanced electrolysis for facial thread veins, and Botox and filler treatments.

Bernie, with her easy conversation and fantastic sense of humour made a really good evening into a fantastic night to remember - a true star to launch our new facility!!

4000th Local Anesthetic Varicose Veins Patient

In the same month that we celebrated our 11 year anniversary of doing the first keyhole surgery operation for varicose veins in the UK, we operated on the 4,000th patient to have walk-in walk-out local anaesthetic surgery for varicose veins at The Whiteley Clinic.

This picture shows the official photograph being taken - Mr Mark Whiteley on the left, Mrs Jennifer Rothera in the middle, and Mr Barrie Price (who performed the operation) on the right.

When Mark Whiteley performed the first VNUS Closure operation in the UK in March 1999, it was performed under general anaesthetic.

This continued to be the practice until about 4 years ago when The Whiteley Clinic built a specialised "walk-in, walk-out" operating theatre for local anaesthetic varicose vein operations.

Not only do patients get the very latest techniques that reduce the risk of getting veins back again, but they also get tiny incisions (usually only 2 - 3mm called "keyhole" surgery), low risks of complications and a long lasting result. Being under local anaesthetic, they are back to full mobility straight away - albeit wearing a stocking or occasionally a bandage. Gone are the days of 2 - 3 weeks off of work after vein stripping!!!!

Mrs Rothera wrote the following:

A few weeks after my treatment I received a 'phone call from The Whiteley Clinic informing me that I was their 4000th patient and would I like to write a testimonial. Without hesitation the answer was "yes".

Years ago I had had my veins stripped and increasingly over the last few years, I have suffered from very painful bouts of phlebitis. Until now I had only ever been offered anti-inflammatory oral medication. I had varicose veins over my right ankle and inside my thighs, but visually they didn't look too bad.

However, in June 2009, the pain became so excruciating that something had to be done (an NHS scan gave me a clean bill of health, but they left me with the pain!!). Fortunately, I was quickly able to attend The Whiteley Clinic where a scan showed a diagnosis of extensive thrombophlebitis, running from my thigh to my calf. Six months of anticoagulation medication followed before treatment could begin. The consultant surgeon, in my case Mr Barrie Price, explained everything to me in words and diagrams. He proposed three procedures, pioneered by the Clinic: laser, radio-frequency and ligation techniques. I was given The Whiteley Clinic booklet, which is excellent.

The day of the first procedure finally arrived and naturally I had my qualms, which immediately began to fade when I walked into the friendly, calm, confident atmosphere of the Clinic. All of the nursing staff with whom I had contact were amazing; as individuals they each showed a caring attitude and collectively in the operating theatre there seemed to be a great team spirit. If you want to know what is going on they will tell you (I always want to know everything, but I gather some people don't want to know anything). All you feel are the initial injections. You can lie back and listen to the music, watch the procedure is on the monitor screen, or join in the conversation!

You are given a post operative patient information leaflet, which is only double sided A4, but so well put together and so explanatory that any bruise, lump or bump you might experience is explained away. They telephone you the day after to see how you and there is a 24-hour helpline available.

I have had 3 procedures over 3 weeks. My left leg has recovered well; my right leg, with all the major problems got all the side-effects in the book, but even now after only 6 weeks the bruising, swelling and the pain have gone and my legs are looking better than they have for years and I can wear strappy sandals again! Maybe veins are like icebergs, a few visible blue or prominent veins are an indication of possible problems below the surface. If anyone reading this has these, or similar symptoms, I recommend a visit to The Whiteley Clinic; don't leave it as long as I did, 'phone them today!

BBC Southern Counties Radio Interview

Eleven years since the first Keyhole Surgery for Varicose Veins in the UK

Today is the 11 year anniversary of the first keyhole operation for Varicose Veins in the UK.

On 12th March 1999, Mark Whiteley performed the first VNUS Closure in the UK using a "keyhole" technique, under General Anaesthetic in Guildford.

In the last 11 years, Mark and his team have:

• moved the keyhole surgery for varicose veins from General Anaesthetic Surgery to a walk in walk out local anaesthetic procedure,
• set up The Whiteley Clinic aas a centre of excellence for Varicose Veins Treatment
• set up The Clinical Exchange - a teaching facility to teach office based vein techniques to doctors and nurses
• invented TRLOP a procedure to treat perforator veins
• won several prizes and published many papers
• proven that Stripping of the Veins only causes them to grow back again and shouldn't be done
• developed treatment for pelvic varicose veins and vulvar / vaginal varicose veins
• integrated treatments to get the best results possible for patients with Varicose Veins using combinations of RFiTT (radiofrequency ablation), EVLA (laser), ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy, coil embolisation, TRLOP, phlebectomy and microsclerotherapy

By introducing this revolutionary approach to treating varicose veins to the UK and by continuing research and development into the subject, The Whiteley Clinic is truly "The Home of Keyhole Surgery for Varicose Veins in the UK".

As more and more of our patients benefit from our developments, Mark Whiteley and The Whiteley Clinic are becoming increasingly recognised nationally (an internationally) as the centre of excellence for people with varicose veins and venous diseases.

There are several articles and announcements coming this year from The Whiteley Clinic - keep an eye on this blog where they will be announced.

Mark Whiteley mentioned in Red Magazine about Thread Veins

Mark Whiteley was quoted this month in Red magazine in an article called "I need to put in the leg work" that was written by Rosie Green.

Rosie tells of her thread vein treatment at The Whiteley Clinic in Harley Street by Mark Whiteley and says her thread veins disappeared in 4 weeks - which is excellent. We usually expect the results to show by 3 months - and earlier is very good healing and an excellent results.

You Tube Channel - The Whiteley Clinic

Having survived 2,000 Km thorough India on a 350 cc Royal Enfield (1950's design) and then got back from England v Italy (a very disappointing performance from England) I am thrilled to find that our You Tube Channel has been launched:

http://www.youtube.com/TheWhiteleyClinic

Sponsorhip of Guildford Rugby

This is the last post for 2 weeks as I am about to embark on our charity ride through India - http://www.india-2010.co.uk/.

However, before we leave this weekend, we will be out in force at Guildford and Godalming rugby club, supporting Guildford against London South Africa.

This week sees the the introduction of the new Guildford Rugby Club shirt - with The Whiteley Clinic logo on each arm.

We hope to see our team running in another victory - keeping up our very good showing this year.

Our main sponsorship deal was announced last year (link at bottom of this article) - and we have also just agreed to sponsor the youth rugby events coming up in February and March.

This is an area very dear to our hearts - helping promote not just rugby but sport and physical activity to the next generation.

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/sport/rugby/s/2056713_rugby_30000_sponsorship_deal_for_guildford

Charity 2000 Km motorbike ride through India

Our 2000 Km motorbike ride through India is almost here:

http://surrey.greatbritishlife.co.uk/people-and-places/charity/article/pioneer-surrey-surgeon-set-for-charity-motorbike-marathon/17072/

Filming at The Whiteley Clinic

On Sunday, we continued filming at The Whiteley Clinic.

Having filmed the interviews on Saturday (see last blog) we spent the day (and a lot of the evening) filming clinical footage and also some of the patient experience at The Whiteley Clinic.

Filming is continuing this week when we will be filming patients and procedures - showing some of the minimally invasive keyhole vein surgery for which we are famous.

Filming with Journalist - Eve Cameron

Today I have been filming some information videos with the lovely Journalist, Eve Cameron.

With the new techniques that we have pioneered for Varicose Veins surgery, there has been increasing interest in local anaesthetic "Walk in, walk out" vein surgery.

Over the last decade, The Whiteley Clinic not only introduced keyhole surgery for Varicose Veins into the UK, but has kept at the cutting edge of technological developments in veins surgery.

Indeed, we are currently using a brand new radiofrequency catheter to treat varicose veins through pin-hole incisions under local anaesthetic, but with far less bruising and pain than EVLA (laser closure). In addition, we are also looking at a new laser for EVLA which might well reduce bruising as well ....

Things are advancing so fast in the world of vein surgery that it is essential to keep the pressure up on the research and development as we have always done at The Whiteley Clinic.

However it can be very confusing for the general public to know what they should accept and what they shouldn't - for instance Stripping has shown to be a very bad option for vein treatments - but most people in the UK are still offered it!!!!

The filming that we are doing today is part of a project that aims to make these new, and often confusing, medical facts and advances more accessible to the public and to people who need the knowledge to decide what treatment they should actually have.

Eve Cameron is such a professional Journalist and interviewer that she made sure the questions brought out the facts that should be most useful to people with vein problems.

IMCAS in Paris

Well I am off to present 2 research papers in Paris with weekend - weather permitting!!!

The papers are on our figures for Laser Sweat Ablation and the Ultrasound results of Liposonix treatment .....