Scottish Vein Centre - Varicose veins no longer need surgery

SVC care is exceptional

"The Scottish Vein Centre is the first private vein clinic in Scotland to be graded as EXCEPTIONAL by the independent health sector regulator, Healthcare Improvement Scotland. The full inspection report is available here and also published on their website"

Varicose veins no longer need surgery

The Scottish Vein Centre is Scotland’s longest established dedicated private varicose vein clinic. Our vein clinic was the inspiration of Dr Kieran McBride in 2006. He has trained in both Vascular Surgery and Interventional Radiology and has a passion for non-surgical treatment of varicose veins.

There has literally been a revolution in treating leg vein problems in the past 15 years. The evidence is now incontrovertible that the new minimally invasive vein ablation techniques offer better results than vein surgery and this has been endorsed by NICE. In particular there is less pain and bruising, quicker recovery times and significantly better five year results with lower recurrence rates and no scars.

Varicose veins before treatment

Varicose veins after treatment

← SLIDE →

Mr. FC ; 61 yrs, Dundee : 7 months post EVLA and Foam sclerotherapy, Feb. 2018

“An outcome way beyond my expectations! I suffered from serious heavy and unsightly varicose veins. I was to be the father of the bride and was desperate to wear a kilt but embarrassed to do so.
Dr McBride came to my rescue ! Unbelievable results. Highly recommended.“

What is the Scottish Vein Centre?

We are the most experienced at non-surgical vein treatments
We provide a walk in / walk out personalized service
There is no general anaesthetic or hospital admission required
Expect rapid recovery and return to work
We are more affordable than any other Scottish vein facility
We are approved by all the major Private Health Insurers

Why you should consider getting your veins fixed now

We are the longest established private vein clinic in Scotland
There has been a revolution in treating leg vein problems in the past 15 years.
The new techniques offer better results than vein surgery.
This has been endorsed by NICE in their 2013 Guidelines.
In particular there is less pain and bruising and quicker recovery times.
Significantly better five year results with lower recurrence rates and no scars.

How do veins work ?

Blood in the legs has to overcome gravity to rise to the heart. Inside veins there are one-way valves, which open with forward flow when your leg muscles contract. Blood flows from superficial veins to deep veins.
What causes varicose veins?

Valves can become damaged and go floppy causing reversed flow (reflux ) in superficial veins that enlarge and become twisted or varicose.

Up to 40% of the adult population get superficial valve failure.
Don’t blame your kids, blame your parents!

There is a strong familial link with developing faulty valves and varicose veins. Having a larger family only worsens a pre-existing genetic tendency.
Why do varicose veins come back?

“Traditional” varicose vein surgery involves cutting at the groin and pulling the entire length of the superficial vein out of the thigh under general anaesthetic.

Minor and major complications can occur in up to 30% of operations.

The BIG PROBLEM with surgery is the very high recurrence rate. At 3 years this can be 30% and at 5 years up to 50% ! Surgery actually stimulates new vein growth!

The new “inside-the-vein” techniques are now showing very low recurrence rates at 5 and 7 years. The Scottish Vein Centre has treated over 1000 incompetent veins by EVLA over the past 12 years with no recurrent cases.

Treatments

Scottish Vein Centre offers a full range of non-surgical treatments for varicose veins and thread veins, including:

Endovenous Laser Ablation ( EVLA / EVLT )

Laser light energy is transmitted along an optical fibre inserted into the vein and steadily pulled back along the treated length of vein. The patient will not feel any pain or burning because prior to turning the laser on the whole vein has been numbed.
Radiofrequency Ablation ( RFA / VENEFIT )

Heat is generated within a thin catheter tube by using a very high frequency alternating current, which heats up. By using a similar pin-hole ultrasound-guided technique to EVLA, the catheter is passed up the vein and slowly withdrawn in stages. No electric current actually passes through the patient.
Ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy

Ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy ( UGFS ) relies entirely on chemical ablation of the inner wall of the targeted vein. A safe liquid chemical ( sclerosant ) is used and is approved by NICE. We mix a small volume of liquid first in a syringe with air and expand the volume to be injected as a foam.

At the Scottish Vein Centre we rely on the other ablation methods described above to treat the main problem vein and we use ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy for the twisting tortuous vein branches.
Micro-sclerotherapy for thread veins removal

Patients with thread veins and spider veins very often have underlying hidden venous incompetence and therefore we will perform Doppler ultrasound on all patients with vein problems, big or small.

The principle of micro-sclerotherapy is the same as that for foam sclerotherapy for large varicose veins, i.e. destroy the lining of the vein by chemical ablation. The difference is that we need only use a very dilute liquid solution.

Endovenous means “within the vein” and ablation is the process of killing off the vein by heat shrinkage. Both methods above differ mainly in the way the heat is delivered.

We pride ourselves at the Scottish Vein Centre in being able to offer a full range of treatments that will comprehensively deal with ALL leg vein problems without ever having to refer anyone for varicose vein surgery.

It is our policy to do a detailed Doppler ultrasound scan on all new patients at their first assessment.

Treatment Costs

We cannot be matched for value. Compare our vein treatment costs to those of other vein clinics in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayr and Aberdeen.

We are the only office-based walk in / walk out service in Scotland. We keep our overheads low to pass on the savings to you.

Example 1:

First visit
with ultrasound scan:

Spire Murrayfield, Edinburgh; £450 - £959

Scottish Vein Centre; £350

Example 2:

Two leg
Laser vein Treatment (EVLA):

Nuffield Hospital, Glasgow; £3455

Scottish Vein Centre; £2400

Example 1:

1 leg EVLA + 1 leg Foam sclerotherapy

Nuffield Hospital, Glasgow ; £3860

Scottish Vein Centre; £2400

Recent testimonials

6 weeks post EVLA laser therapy

The whole experience was excellent. The procedure was not as bad as I expected. The recovery was easy. I have recommended the SVC to several friends and colleagues.

Mr SL, 57

St. Andrews, Nov. 2017

6 months post EVLA & foam therapy

Lovely to wear a summer dress again and to have no ugly blue ankle bracelet !” Good job done with great results. Enjoyed wearing shorts and dresses again on holiday.

Mrs RM, 61

Perth, Oct. 2017
3 months post EVLA & foam therapy

Fantastic service. I felt totally at ease and everyone was great. Amazed by my results so far and can’t wait to see them improve even more.

Ms LS, 20

South Queensferry, Nov. 2017

6 months post EVLA & foam therapy

I am delighted with the treatment that I have received. The procedure was explained well berforehand and on the day everything went really well. I had minimal bruising and the recovery was far easier and quicker than I expected.

Mrs MB, 45

Stirling, Jan 2018