Veincentre or UK vein clinic?

[S25]

Pros, cons, general thoughts or any other suggestions for clinics? I’m a fit and healthy 32 year old desperate to have my varicose veins sorted out for my self-confidence (I’ve not been able to wear the clothes I want to in the past 5 years) plus I’m now also experiencing more aches, pains, throbbing and itching 😔

Be very careful. I had some spider veins treated with sclerotherapy, they are worse now and no guarantee of getting rid of them, really pissed off. Some weren’t visible before the treatment, and the clinic that did it just don’t give a shit, it’s like the Wild West with cosmetic treatments, the industry is shocking.

If I was you I’d visit your G.P and ask them if they can recommend a vascular surgeon, explain to them about the pain and aches. If the waiting list is ridiculous you could always consider private treatment.

Hi, yeah, that’s why I’m asking about the vein centre or vein clinic as recommendations and which are best! - they are both private. NHS don’t do varicose veins and I can’t be bothered asking the GP for recommendations because they are useless. Back a few years ago I waited 18 months for a referral to a vascular surgeon to have a 5 minute consult with him for him to tell me it’s really unfortunate that I’m as young as I am and the veins are as bad as they are etc but unfortunately the London borough I’m in doesn’t do them unless they are past the point of being able to be fixed essentially - venous ulcerations etc etc which is why I’m looking to go private because I’m young and want to be able to dress how I want and not be in pain from the aching and throbbing! Varicose are different to spider, it’s not solely cosmetic. I have a lot of pain plus the added issue of the appearance of them bulging, changing colour and looking like ropes.

I just don’t want to pay a £250 consultation fee and it be a waste of money so I want to know which are clinic/centre/facility is the highest recommended and which forms of treatment are most affective - I’ve been online and these two seem to come out on top for EVLA.

I’ve considered the two clinics you’ve mentioned. I too hate wearing a dress, I now have marks on my shin that they’ve caused, plus the original problem, I definitely won’t wear shorts any more 🥴

Years ago my brother had a varicose vein treated, he now has another and it appears that like you say they don’t do much about it.

I've got my fingers crossed for you, I feel your frustration. I’m 57, still in good shape but so self bloody conscious of the veins and discolouration, I get where your coming from.

I got a private referral from my GP for a consultant vascular surgeon who carried out a laser ablation.

Do you still have the details of the one you saw? If you ring his private secretary he'll be delighted to accept you as a private patient for surgery even if he couldn't as an NHS patient.

I have a friend who went to one of the clinics. My outcome has been far better

Thanks all! @Elphame I’ve checked my NHS app and can’t see it listed unfortunately and I don’t think I have the letters anymore but I might contact my GP surgery and see if they have a record of the consultant and go from there. I just don’t feel 100% on either of the clinics I mentioned so might be best to explore this. Thanks for the suggestion 🙂

I had EVLA done at a Benenden clinic about 12 years ago. Best thing ever, and they haven't returned.

@skippy67 where was this please? I’ve been on the Benenden hospital website and they don’t seem to have any appointments for consultations at all.

It was at their hospital in Cranbrook, Kent.

I had evla and sclerotherapy at veincentre. It was easy , fast and effective for a while. After about three years I just got new , worse problems in other veins. This time veins that were less suited to laser ablation.

Bringing this thread back to life!
I too am considering this, any more updates or advice?

I had mine done in July 2023 at The Veincentre in Edinburgh. I had a dodgy valve up at the very top of my left leg so blood was falling back down causing the varicose vein. I 100% recommend getting it done. Took a while for bruising to disappear so don’t book any holidays soon after.
Any questions just ask.

Thank you, will see if there is one near me. Have holiday beginning of August so will have to do it soon or after holiday.

I've had EVLA (laser ablation) and sclerotherapy at Veincentre. This treatment is NICE - recommended best practice for varicose veins wherever possible. Varicose veins can be treated by two different types of specialist doctor - either an interventional radiologist or a vascular surgeon. I'm not aware of any evidence that one is better than the other, but generally I'd expect a vascular surgeon to go for surgical techniques while interventional radiologists do non-surgical eg laser ablation. Interventional radiologists are the specialists who do things like cardiac catheter treatments etc, so they are very much specialists at working inside the circulatory system.

Stripping the veins is supposed nowadays to be avoided where laser ablation is suitable, because recovery is harder, more risk of complications and no additional benefit.. It's worth looking at the NICE guidance.
I had treatment in both legs from ankles up to the inner thigh. Two years later I had one further varicose vein develop in one leg, which is not unusual because if you're prone to them, you may get later valve failures. Getting them treated reduces the risk of future failures because once one valve has gone it's like a domino effect, increasing pressure on other valves within that vein.
I've been very pleased with the outcome because the aching and throbbing and tired legs just went.

I also had treatment at Edinburgh veincentre last year. The consultant also works for the NHS.
I had sclerotherapy on both legs and a vein removed via incision, it wasn’t suitable for laser. Couldn’t recommend them highly enough. I still have some slight discolouration from the foam but it’s fading and less unsightly than the vein was!

My only tip is don’t have it done in summer!

Really helpful and informative posts from everyone, thank you. Reassuring to read and didn't know that you could be treated by either an interventional radiologist or a vascular surgeon. And i want ro prevent further ones appearing as DivorcedAndDelighted said. I did contact a vein clinic nearby but they said only the consultation would be carried out there and the treatment would be done in London, which is no good, so looking again.

I'm wondering for now, if I can get away with putting Dermablend on spider veins and just have to put up with varicose vein running along inside of knee.