A TOP Basingstoke doctor is to appear on BBC Television’s The One Show to discuss treatment for varicose veins.

Dr Steve Tristram, a vascular physician at Basingstoke hospital and the private Hampshire Clinic in Old Basing is an expert on the subject.

He told The Gazette he believes NHS restrictions on preventative treatments put some patients at risk of vein bleeding and developing nasty and hard-to-treat leg ulcers.

NHS Hampshire, which holds the local pursestrings, only allows consultants to carry out varicose vein treatment – including surgery – once these complications have set in.

Dr Tristram, who is set to appear on the television show, which starts at 7pm tonight, told of his frustration at this policy.

He said: “The criteria should be relaxed to allow people like myself to make a decision about treatment.”

Many people seeking treatment only require it for cosmetic reasons. But Dr Tristram said some patients showed signs, such as skin discolouration, which suggested a risk of complications such as a leg ulcer – and he believes they should be treated on the NHS.

For the past 18 months, NHS Hampshire has only allowed treatment where the patient has bleeding of the vein or a recurring venous ulcer.

Dr Stuart Ward, clinical director of NHS Hampshire, |said: “NHS Hampshire funds surgical treatment in all such cases.”

James Nicholson, communications officer for NHS Hampshire added that the evidence suggested treatment was best after such symptoms appeared. He said: “It’s not a cost decision – it’s a clinical evidence decision.”

However, Dr Tristram believes it is financially motivated.

He said: “I understand there are extremely expensive cancer drugs to be paid for. But unpleasant complications such as leg ulcers are expensive for the NHS to manage.”

About 50 per cent of leg ulcers in this country could be prevented, he said – and in doing so the NHS could make huge savings by avoiding costly treatment for what is a persistent condition.

The doctor said varicose vein patients in Scotland receive preventative treatment, as do those living in certain areas of England such as West London and parts of Birmingham.

One in five people will develop varicose veins and women |are more often affected than men.

The condition is caused when the one-way valves in the veins do not work and blood flows back down, causing them to bulge and become visibly swollen and distorted.

Symptoms include heaviness, aching, throbbing, itching, cramps or fatigue in the legs. If left untreated, some patients can develop legs ulcers.

Dr Tristram uses a non-surgical technique called foam sclerotherapy.

This involves injecting special foam into the affected vein, which inflames and then closes it. Other treatments involve surgically stripping the veins under local anaesthetic.