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Business View Australia
“was recorded in Roman times”,
according to Rhiannon. Conventional
surgery was the traditional method
of treating varicose veins for more
than a hundred years but it has long
been recognized that varicose veins
returning after surgery have been an
enormous problem. Surgery has also
been associated with other risks due
to hospitalization and the requirement
for a general anaesthetic.
“The reason why the recurrence is
so high with surgical stripping (40%
within 4 years) is not because the
surgery has been done improperly but
because of regrowth of new varicose
veins – a process now recognized as
“Neovascularization”. Amazingly, the
body just seems to start regrowing
new veins in the groin area which then
over the years extend down the leg to
sometimes cause even more severe
varicose veins. In the last 10-15
years with the use of ELT the treated
veins are simply reabsorbed and do
not seem to reoccur to the same
high degree as seen in conventional
surgery”, says Rhiannon.
Doctor-patient
communication at the next
level
Communicating and interacting
with patients on a personal level is
of utmost importance to the staff at
The Leg Vein Doctor and Dr. Kemp
plays an important role in that. As
the staff will gladly tell you, there are
a lot of patients who live outside the
metropolitan area and often need to
make extended trips in order to visit
the clinic. However, Dr. Kemp and his
team are very experienced in dealing
with this and have even created a
specific program for patients who live
in rural regions but wish to receive
treatment for their venous concerns.
Dr. Kemp, as a foundation Fellow of
the Australian College of Rural and
Remote Medicine (FACRRM), ensures
that The Leg Vein Doctor is able to
offer their services to as wide a range
of patients as possible. For several
years Dr. Kemp has maintained a
monthly clinic in the rural community
of Toowoomba where he continues to
provide a more accessible service to
those living in regional country towns.
The essential tools of the trade have
now become portable – such as
ultrasound and laser machines - so
that these can be brought onsite for
patient assessment and treatment.
“We are a small team. My husband
heads up the practice. He does
everything really, from start to
finish with the patients, and that’s
kind of the model that we wanted.
His background is in rural general
practice. He has been a family GP for
15 years in a remote setting which
meant that he had to do quite a lot
of surgical procedures, anesthetics
and obstetrics. He is very competent
in terms of communicating with
patients and explaining to them about
treatment options and providing
‘hands on’ care”, comments Rhiannon.