A man who said he always believed his prominent leg veins were a purely cosmetic issue only to one day start mysteriously began fainting. The nightmare began when Paul McStay was putting up the Christmas tree with his three young children.
Suddenly he collapsed on the floor. “I’d been sawing off a section of the tree so it would fit the stand,” explains Paul, 44. “But as I stood up, I passed out for a few seconds.
“I felt very woozy and had no idea what had happened or why. The children called my wife Clare, who was equally shocked.”
In the weeks following his collapse in December 2021, Paul experienced further worrying episodes. He fainted a second time while in the garden, and then became extremely dizzy while bending down in the kitchen.
“I realised that crouching down before standing up quickly was causing me to faint,” explains Paul, a digital business manager who lives near Lymington in Hampshire. “I was getting worried as I realised this wasn’t normal and something wasn’t right.”
Clare urged Paul to have his heart checked in case that was the cause. Although investigations revealed no issues, the cardiac consultant suggested Paul should get the very prominent varicose veins on both of his legs checked out.
Varicose veins are very common and about three out of 10 adults have them. They are caused when the valves inside the veins of the legs stop working properly. Instead of blood flowing back to the heart, it collects in the lower leg and feet.
Although more prevalent in women after pregnancy, the condition often runs in families. Paul had never considered these could be connected to the fainting because varicose veins are rarely serious, although complications can develop ranging from eczema and bleeding to dangerous blood clots.
“I’ve had larger than normal veins in my legs since I was eight,” recalls Paul. “They became bumpier in my teens and more visible in both legs in my twenties onwards. I accepted that’s how they looked and still wore shorts – I’m not body conscious and always thought varicose veins surgery was purely cosmetic.”
On the cardiac consultant’s advice, Paul saw a private venous specialist who said although his veins were extremely large, there wasn’t much he could do.
“He said he would get me fitted with compression stockings I would need to wear for the rest of my life to help stop the veins swelling,” he says. “I wore them for a week, but they were so uncomfortable I gave up.”
Disappointed that nothing could be done, Paul sought a second opinion. An ultrasound scan showed his largest veins were 25mm in diameter, when they should be about 4mm, leaving him at risk of complications.
He was referred to Professor Mark Whiteley, founder of the private Whiteley Clinic in Guildford, Surrey, which specialises in treating veins. In May last year Paul had the first of two separate procedures under local anaesthetic to blitz his veins.
First he had endovenous laser ablation (EVLA), a therapy in which a laser is used to ‘kill’ some of the more visible veins from the inside. Eight weeks later Paul had foam sclerotherapy. It involved a drug mixed with foam and air put directly into his veins not previously treated.
The foam displaces blood in the veins and the drug destroys cells in the lining of the veins. Paul had to wear compression stockings for three weeks after the procedure to prevent pain and brown staining of the skin.
“During the first treatment, I could feel the heat travelling along my leg, which was a strange sensation,” says Paul. “Afterwards they were black and blue with bruises. Recovery was quick – I was able to drive the day after surgery and within 12 weeks my legs looked so much better.”
The treatments also stopped Paul’s fainting. “Paul’s varicose veins were among the largest I’d treated,” says Prof Whiteley. “Fainting due to varicose veins is very uncommon, but it was easy to see why with such enlarged veins.
“In Paul’s case, squatting would squash the vein flat. Because the valves in his veins weren’t working properly, due to gravity the blood would fall down his legs and pool.
“This meant no blood returned to his heart, so in that split second there was none for the heart to pump out, causing him to faint. We calculated that when he crouched, about half a litre of blood was being lost which would normally return to his heart.”
Since surgery, Paul has had no problems. He also now has more energy. “I’d never realised varicose veins might cause an underlying medical issue. This treatment has changed my life.”
For more details, visit thewhiteleyclinic.co.uk
