Conventional surgery is still the mainstay of venous surgery for the majority of UK surgeons but more recently VNUS (radiofrequency ablation) has been highlighted as an alternative.


www.vnus.com

The major benefit of VNUS is the alternative way in which the refluxing superficial vein is treated. Rather than ‘stripping’ the vein with a specialised ‘pin-stripper’ device through an incision in the groin, the VNUS catheter is inserted at ankle level under ultrasound control. The catheter is manually withdrawn to ensure that the vein wall temperature is maintained at 85ºC, destroying the vein wall from within thereby avoids the need for a groin incision or strip of the vein. It is these 2 features that result in the dramatic improvement in recovery time.

In September 2003 the NHS National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) reported on their analysis of VNUS and they concluded by supporting the use of this procedure as an alternative to conventional surgery. In line with this support many insurers are now recognising procedural codes for this technique.

Patient information leaflets will be provided by your surgeon at the time of your initial consultation and you will be given an opportunity to ask any questions that you may have. The Vascular Surgical Society (VSS) provides regular updates to its own file of patient information leaflets and these are recommended for use by all members/vascular specialists of the VSS.

The site also provides information to travellers with regard to flight-related thrombosis and the basic advice that all airlines should now be providing as routine to all passengers.

www.vssgbi.org