An American Company called VNUS produced a catheter that can be put into the vein and then heat the vein wall to

85 degrees Centigrade . At this temperature, the vein is destroyed, leaving an internal scar that slowly gets reabsorbed by the body.

his was first introduced to the UK in early 1999 and was initially performed using a cut in the groin to get the catheter into the vein. Two cases were done in London this way.

In March 1999, Mr Mark Whiteley performed the first VNUS closure in the UK avoiding any cut at all in the groin. Now, with over 3,000 legs treated, Mr Whiteley, his Colleague Mr Price and their team in Guildford have the largest series of VNUS closures in the world, having overtaken all the other early workers in this field on both sides of the Atlantic.

On 5th March 2007, Mark Whiteley performed the first VNUS Closure FAST in the UK. This new technique can be used under local anaesthetic, and is much faster than the older VNUS Closure technique.

In addition, it has shown considerably less bruising and pain than the EVLA system that we have been using.