Michael explains why he performs his venous treatments within a hospital setting.

There is an increasing trend for venous treatments to be performed in small stand-alone doctor-owned clinics providing treatments under local anaesthetic only.

Although I am a great fan of local anaesthetic techniques - and indeed our pioneering use of short-acting nerve blocks provides excellent intraoperative and postoperative anaesthesia and analgesia - local anaesthesia is not appropriate for all clinical situations.

With extensive bilateral varicose veins, infiltrating large amounts of local anaesthesia can itself be painful.

Other patients may have an anxious disposition or may have had a previous bad experience with local anaesthetic. In these cases, it is useful to be able to offer a general anaesthetic option and this can only be administered safely within a hospital setting, with all the safety and reassurance of full back-up facilities and specialist colleagues available.

" As always, patient safety is paramount. In 2017 my overall rating from BUPA patients was ‘excellent’ – the top rating."

Appointment bookings and practice hours>