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What Patients Are Saying...
Olympic rower Alison Knowles back in the boat 48 hours after new
key-hole varicose vein operation
Alison Knowles, 27 who rows for the British rowing team, is one of 5 million people in the UK who are affected by the pain, swelling and discomfort associated with varicose veins.
Alison started feeling pain and swelling in her leg after returning from a training camp in Australia in January, and was diagnosed by West London based Vascular Surgeon Sophie Renton as having a condition called venous reflux disease, where vein valves do not work properly – the cause of varicose veins.
Traditional varicose vein surgery would have meant that Alison would have missed out on essential training.
The 3-4 weeks recovery time following traditional vein surgery wasn't an option as I train 5 hours a day, 6 days a week.
Alison Knowles
Alison was happy that her local Consultant Vascular Surgeon Sophie Renton offered a new technique called the VNUS Closure procedure, which can be performed under local anaesthetic in less than an hour.
They injected my leg with local anaesthetic which caused more of an ache than a pain, then through a tiny incision inserted a small wire into my vein which used radiofrequency waves to heat and shut the faulty vein down, instead of the traditional way of surgically removing it. I was awake throughout and actually watched my Surgeon perform the procedure – it was very simple!
Following VNUS Closure I left the Hospital with a simple bandage on my leg, did not take a single pain killer and was back to my daily training regime within 48 hours.
Alison Knowles