Veincentre

David is internationally renowned for his work in developing minimally invasive vein treatments. He trained in Medicine and Surgery at Leeds medical school qualifying in 1979. He then held medical and surgical posts in Hull, Cork and Birmingham. Recognising the tremendous potential of minimally invasive image guided therapy as a future alternative to surgery, he decided to specialise in the then new field of Interventional Radiology gaining experience with the great pioneers in the field, Anders Lunderquist in Sweden and Duncan Irving in London. He qualified DMRD and FRCR before moving to take up a consultant position at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS) in 1989. UHNS is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK and David has developed one of the busiest Interventional Radiology practices. He performs over a thousand operations a year in the NHS and has undertaken over 10,000 minimally invasive varicose vein procedures. His other clinical interests over the last 20 years as a consultant have been the development of image guided minimally invasive alternative treatments for a range of disorders including peripheral vascular disease, kidney stones, gall stones, fibroids, trauma and other acute bleeding situations. All these involve the precise and delicate manipulation of catheters, guidewires and other specialised instruments guided by ultrasound and other modern imaging devices. This experience has been vital to the success of his varicose vein work and enables him to confidently catheterize and treat even the most challenging of veins which others would manage with traditional surgery.David was one of the very first doctors in the UK to train in the EVLA technique learning from leading experts in the US including the pioneer of endovenous laser Dr Robert Min Interventional Radiologist at Cornell University, New York. David has one of the largest personal experiences of this treatment in Europe. This experience and the recognition by his peers of his expertise in this field has led to him regularly being invited to lecture on the subject at National and International medical conferences. He has written several chapters on the management of venous insufficiency in major radiology textbooks and many articles in medical journals.David has also appeared on programmes about EVLA on BBC radio and television and in numerous newspaper and magazine articles. As a luminary teacher for SDL Medical Ltd. he has trained vascular specialists around the UK in EVLA and associated procedures. For the last two years he has been a faculty member of the prestigious ESIR (European School of Interventional Radiology) and the Venous Day of the Charing Cross Symposium teaching the EVLA techniques to doctors from Europe, the Middle East and Australia. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists (FRCR) and is a member of the British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR),and the Vascular Society. In recognition of his work developing Interventional Radiology in Europe he has recently been elected a Fellow of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe (CIRSE) and has been awarded the academic qualification of EBIR (European Board of Interventional Radiology). To help bring these new treatments to more patients David has established a laser supply company, SDL medical, providing his personally designed kits and the highest quality laser generators at reasonable prices. Driving down the prices has enabled NHS hospitals to offer the latest minimally invasive vein treatments at a lower cost to the NHS than traditional surgery. His determination to enable as many patients as possible to benefit from the new techniques is reflected in his own clinical pricing policy. He charges a reasonable, not extortionate, price for all services. Rather surprisingly it is cheaper to have treatment personally performed by Dr West in a UK clinic than it is to travel to Eastern Europe as a health tourist. 

Dominic Dodd is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon who works closely with David at the Manchester clinic.He first met David in 1992 when he was undertaking basic surgical training at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. He subsequently trained in Manchester at both the University Hospital of South Manchester and Manchester Royal Infirmary and is now based at the Sheffield Vascular Institute. He has a busy NHS and private practice dealing with both arterial and venous conditions in one of the largest specialist vascular centres in the UK. He is active in research and is a principal investigator in the CLASS trial comparing a range of treatments for varicose veins.Although he first started treating varicose veins with open surgery in 1993, he has since developed considerable expertise in minimally- invasive varicose vein treatment. He first started using VNUS and endovenous laser to treat varicose veins in 2004 and has now performed more than one thousand procedures. He has run training courses on endovenous laser treatment and been invited to lecture to doctors from throughout the UK and Europe. Dominic is recognised by all the major insurance providers, and has been on the specialist register of the GMC since 2002. He is married with one son and enjoys travel and photography whenever he has any spare time.

Dr Lyn Jones runs the Bristol clinic with Marcus Brooks. Like Dr West she is an interventional radiologist and holds an NHS consultant position at North Bristol NHS Trust where she specialises in vascular diagnosis and minimally invasive therapies. Lyn qualified in medicine and surgery at Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School in June 1987 (MBBS). Working as a junior doctor she completed post-graduate training in Bristol but has also worked in Westminster, Winchester, Cardiff, China and New Zealand. She has obtained professional qualifications in both Surgery and Radiology, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1991 (FRCS) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists in 1999 (FRCR). During her work as a surgeon she performed many traditional open venous procedures including long saphenous vein stripping and avulsions. She has published on varicose vein surgical outcomes, and in 1994 was the first person to recognise the natural history of varicose veins to recur by newvessel growth (neovascularisation). This is now accepted as the primary mechanism of recurrence after surgery, and the understanding of this mechanism led to the development of endovascular vein treatments including EVLA which minimizes such recurrence. In September 2002 Lyn took up her consultant position at North Bristol NHS Trust where she specialises in Vascular and Interventional Radiology. Her practice includes a sclerotherapy service for complex vascular anomalies in addition to endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and other stent and angioplasty endovascular services. This NHS practice, like David's, involves precise and delicate manipulation of catheters, wires and other specialised instruments guided by ultrasound and other modern imaging devices. Lyn is a member of the British Society of Interventional Radiologists (BSIR) and of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE). Lyn lives in the Chew Valley near Bristol with her husband, Will, and two children, Lisa and Harry. She is qualified to teach ice dance, has represented Bristol in regional ice dance competitions and also enjoys travel, skiing and Radio 3.

Mr Marcus Brooks works closely with Dr Lyn Jones at the Bristol clinic. He is a consultant vascular surgeon with an NHS position at United Bristol Hospital Trust. Marcus has extensive experience in the management of venous problems using minimally invasive techniques. He qualified from Cambridge University School of Medicine in 1993 and was appointed to the St Mary's Basic Surgical Training program in 1995. In 1998, following award of the FRCS, He joined Professors Nicholas Cheshire and Ara Darzi at Imperial College for two years of clinical research studying organ dysfunction following complex aortic surgery. This research resulted in the award of a MD from the University of London. In 2000 he was appointed a Specialist Registrar on the West London Higher Surgical Training Program; spending three years in General Surgery before specialising in Vascular Surgery at St Mary's, Charing Cross and St George's Hospitals. In 2006 the award of the Peter Clifford and Moynihan Travelling Fellowships enabled him to spend time in Sweden and Australia developing vascular and endovascular experience. In September 2007 he took up his current post as Consultant Vascular Surgeon with an endovascular interest at the Bristol Royal Infirmary where he is developing programs for the endovascular treatment of varicose veins and other common vascular conditions. Sport has been a major part of his life since school: At Cambridge he was Captain of Trinity Hall Boat Club, won the intercollegiate coxed IVs three consecutive years, won and twice retained the headship in the Lent Bumps, and sunk while rowing for Cambridge against Oxford in an invitation race in Turkey! He now keeps fit with the Bristol and District Triathlon club, running the occasional marathon and windsurfing. He is a member of Henley Royal Regatta and is starting to appreciate that watching sport is just as much fun - and a lot easier - than competing.