Double first for hospital trust

10:29am Sunday 22nd June 2008

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SURGEONS working at Worcestershire hospitals have received national recognition for their work in new treatments for varicose veins.

Vascular consultants, Mr Isaac Nyamekye and Mr Nicholas Hickey, have pioneered the use of ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy, endovenous laser surgery and radiofrequency ablation for varicose veins in the West Midlands.

In April, 2007 Dr Suzanne Grainger, then a senior house officer with the vascular surgeons, presented their paper on using foam sclerotherapy to treat calf varicose veins, to the Venous Forum of the Royal Society of Medicine, the national body for varicose veins experts.

Suzanne was awarded the Venous Forum prize for the best paper presentation despite competition from more senior trainees from around the country.

A high honour from the prestigious society, it was the first time it had been won by a Worcestershire hospital.

Not content with that success, Miss Cath Moffat, specialist registrar to the vascular surgeons, wrote and presented a second paper with Mr Nyamekye on his current work on foam sclerotherapy to the 2008 meeting of the Venous Forum of the Royal Society of Medicine held in London in April.

Miss Moffatt’s presentation was jointly awarded the Venous Forum prize, shared with a paper from Newcastle.

It is unprecedented for the same hospital trust to win the coveted award two years running, The two papers highlighted different aspects of the technique of ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy, a minimally invasive local anaesthetic technique of using a foam for treating varicose veins.

Over the last five years foam sclerotherapy and the other new treatment have transformed the treatment of varicose veins, which traditionally requires general anaesthetic, surgical cuts and prolonged periods of time off work.

Using these techniques patients need only a local anaesthetic treatment, often as outpatients and with immediate walking and early return to normal activity.

Ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy involves injecting a foam solution of a chemical into the veins using ultrasound guidance.

This forces the blood out of the vein allowing good contact between the chemical and the vein wall so that the vein is then sealed.

The sealed vein eventually forms a scar, which the body disperses. Most patients require only one treatment to achieve this end result although more than one treatment session may be needed.

Foam treatment is particularly suitable for patients whose veins have returned after previous surgery.

Mr Hickey and Mr Nyamekye have been offering these treatments at Worcestershire since 2004. Foam Sclerotherapy is performed in a few other West Midlands hospitals but is gaining in popularity nationally.

The trust has been host to other consultant vascular surgeons from across the country who have visited Worcestershire to train in the technique.