Circulating a lot of knowledge

A new type of conference next month aims to help doctors expand their private practice from being just varicose veins to a whole venous service. Consultant vascular surgeon Prof Mark Whiteley outlines his plans.

I have been thinking about setting up a new veins meeting for many years. What has inspired me to launch our meeting now is the fact that we are ready to offer something new.

Vein meetings, on the whole, tend to follow certain patterns. The established academic meetings tend to have a series of lectures on a wide variety of topics, which in most cases are a blend of basic science and clinical studies, either selected by abstract or by invited speakers.

The more moralistic meetings typically have expert speakers teaching about their own subjects.

But, in my experience, very few, if any, meetings focus on one topic at a time and start from the basic understanding, through to the latest advances, while showing how this works in practice and then allowing delegates to ask questions.

Hence the reason for The College of Phleb­ology’s 1st International Veins Meeting on 15-17 March 2017 at 30 Euston Square, London.

One subject at a time

The mainstream session each day will concentrate on one subject at a time, including thermal ablation, non-thermal ablation, pelvic vein embolisation, perforator vein disease and venous leg ulcers.

Subjects will be followed through in order, allowing all delegates to find their own level of understanding of the subject and then add to their own knowledge base:

Learn: Each subject or technique will start with presentations on the basics. Why we do it, who is suitable, what devices are used, how this subject or technique developed. This will enable delegates with little or no experience in the area to get to grips with the subject or technique.

Understand: Subjects and techniques will then be analysed further with presentations of the latest studies, devices and the relevant basic science, to deepen understanding and help delegates understand how to improve their own practice.

Watch: There will then be live links to ultrasound suites, operating theatres and radiology rooms where live cases will be performed by recognised experts in the field.

Depending on the subject or technique being explored, the live cases may be both diagnostic and treatment.

Delegates will be able to ask the specialists questions during the procedures, mediated through the session chairman. They will not only see the latest procedures but will be able to clear up any specific points of interest or technique immediately.

Ask: Finally, each subject or technique will be opened up for questions to ensure delegates have a chance to express their views or ask questions.

Each of the Learn/Understand/Watch/Ask sessions will last two hours, enabling delegates to explore two subjects each day in great depth and detail.

Of course, not all delegates will be interested in all of the sessions each day because we all have our own specific areas of interest. Therefore, there will be two parallel lecture theatres also going on throughout the conference offering alternative learning and discussion experiences.

Parallel lecture theatres

 Parallel 1 – Veins: Hands-on workshops/lectures/basic science. This will have a diverse array of sessions of interest to specialists from all backgrounds.

These will include phlebology and the basic science related to it, lectures on more obscure areas of phlebology that are not covered in the ‘learn/understand/watch/ask’ sessions.

There will also be a variety of hands-on workshops where delegates can experience the equipment they might not be used to. They will be shown how to get the best out of each device.

 Parallel 2 – Leg Ulcers: Run by The Leg Ulcer Charity and supported by The Lindsay Club. As we know, leg ulcers are principally venous in nature, typically treated by traditional methods of dressing and compression. Research shows us that almost all can be cured by intervention.

Ambulatory endovenous techniques can cure some 50-85% and stenting the obstructive disease can increase this further. Across the three days, this parallel theatre will delve into the assessment and whole range of treatments that are now becoming available for this chronic and debilitating disease.

The speakers

Most meetings invite members to join the speakers’ faculty because they are well known in the field or because they are regular attendees. Usually this means delegates who go to more than one meeting will often hear the same people giving the same talks.

To remain in line with the ‘Learn/Understand/Watch/Ask’ methodology, we have specifically invited speakers who are practical experts in their field and who have huge personal experience in the procedures they are talking about.

This way, our faculty speakers will be able to guide the delegates into understanding the new concepts in each subject or technique discussed, and should also be able to give tips from their wide experience, rather than figures that have been published and can be read outside of this meeting.

Who will get the most benefit from attending?

The College of Phlebology has always been a society that offers mutual advice and support to anyone involved in phlebology. Until now and the creation of this meeting, this has only been possible through our online forum.

This 1st International Veins Meeting aims to help build the community we have been developing online while allowing members to meet, learn and exchange ideas and experience.

We believe anyone treating patients with varicose veins, pelvic congestion syndrome or other venous disease, or who are looking after patients with leg ulcers, will benefit greatly from this meeting.

Exclusive launches at the meeting

Aside from all of the sessions outlined above, we are due to launch several new things at the meeting itself.

At the time of writing, this these items are being completed and agreements are being finalised.

• See ‘Surgeon’s firm wins top grant’