Pioneering Veins Surgery

This website outlines the way that Mark Whiteley and his team at The Whiteley Clinic have pioneered the new "keyhole surgery" for varicose veins in the UK.

Over the second half of the year in 2008, there were several articles on the news, on the radio, in the papers and on the internet talking about certain individuals or hospitals "pioneering keyhole vein surgery" in the UK.

Unfortunately very few of these articles (if any) researched where "keyhole vein surgery" had come from - and who had introduced it into the UK.

Many of the surgeons interviewed had been trained at The Whiteley Clinic - one had even worked in a Whiteley Clinic for a while - but none of them gave the credit for their training to our team and the work we have been doing since March 1999.

Of course we don't teach everything we know and develop to those not working in our clinic - so few if any of these surgeons are using the latest techniques, protocols and equipment that we have developed. Only surgeons working in The Whiteley Clinic are kept up to date with our advances.

The rest of this website will outline how the pioneering work at The Whiteley Clinic has changed surgery for Varicose Veins and venous conditions in the UK.

Below are the major points - which are explained within the website:

● 12th March 1999 – First “Keyhole” vein operation in UK

● April 1999 – First “Keyhole” vein operation presented to National Meeting

● 2000 – Invented TRLOP to treat Incompetent Perforating Veins (IPVs)

● May 2001 – Association proven between Incompetent Perforating Veins and Recurrent Varicose veins

● 2002 – We showed that current theories of how Varicose Veins occur are upside down

● September 2002 – We showed a new way to operate on Recurrent Varicose Veins

● November 2004 – National Prize for work on Incompetent Perforating Veins (IPVs)

● January 2005 – Regional Prize for proving The Great Saphenous Vein grows back after stripping

● 2006 – Publication showing our Keyhole techniques don’t allow “neovascularisation” or re-growth of varicose veins at the groin

● 2006 – Invention of a Keyhole technique for treating the Small Saphenous Vein

● November 2006 – National Prize for showing how commonly Pelvic Vein Reflux is associated with Varicose Veins in women

● 5th March 2007 – Performed the First VNUS Closure® FAST™ in the UK

● March 2007 – 2nd Place in National Prize for identifying unsafe practices during EVLA (Endo Venous Laser Ablation)

● 2007 – Published the link between Pelvic Congestion Syndrome and Varicose Veins

● November 2008 – Published our technique and results for treating pelvic vein reflux

Of course our work continues. we are continuing to develop and pioneer our treatments. We are also expanding and are planning to open more Whiteley Clinics. This should allow us to bring our expertise to patients with varicose veins and venous diseases more easily.