Practical Strategies in Vein Disease and its Impact on Venous Pathology

At UK Vein Clinic, Vanessa supports patients during their procedures and also leads the clinical pathway and aftercare team. 

Vanessa was born and raised in California, where she initially attended UC Berkeley for a BA in History, before she went on to complete a Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Glasgow. With a background in cardiovascular theatre nursing, Vanessa worked at St Thomas’ Hospital as the Venous Clinical Nurse Specialist and Venous Lead. With skills in advanced assessment, Vanessa is an independent nurse prescriber and leads the UK Vein Clinic nursing team.

Vanessa has extensive experience in developing and managing varicose vein treatment lists and providing care for patients with leg ulcers. With over 10 years experience in treating varicose veins, Vanessa looks forward to helping each patient in their journey to access world-class treatment that improves their quality of life.

Mr Sanjay Patel is a Vascular Consultant at the UK Vein Clinic. He graduated from the University of Manchester Medical School in 2001, and trained in Manchester and Nottingham before undertaking research at King’s College London. Mr Patel completed higher surgical training specialising in Vascular and Endovascular surgery, and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2014. He was appointed as Consultant Vascular and Endovascular surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in 2014.

Prof Stephen Black is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and a Professor of Venous Surgery at Kings College, London. He is the Site Lead for Surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and the Co-R&D Lead for the Cardiovascular Directorate (Cardiology, Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Surgery). He was Clinical Lead for Vascular Surgery for 4 years (2019-2023).

Dr Black is the Co-founder & Medical Director of UK Vein Clinic. In private practice he undertakes medical consultations and minimally invasive procedures at 150 Harley Street, London, UK. For complex work, Dr Black's private practice is at Harley Street HCA Clinic in London and Ramsey Ashtead Hospital in Surrey.

His principal clinical interest is the treatment of venous disease. Prof Black has established a large practice in the treatment of both Acute and Chronic Deep Venous Disease as well as superficial venous disorders and together with a comprehensive multi-disciplinary team of colleagues at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, is part of one of the largest such services in Europe.

His basic medical training was in South Africa (University of the Witwatersrand) before emigrating to the United Kingdom in 2001. He completed a MD degree at St Marys Hospital and Imperial College London in 2006 under the supervision of Mr John Wolfe and Lord Ara Darzi. In 2011 he received the fellowship of the European Board of Vascular Surgery.

Prof Black is the program director for both the European Venous Forum Hands on Workshops (EVF HOW) and The Charing Cross Vascular Symposium Venous Programme. He was the Venous Tutor for European Society of Vascular Surgery (ESVS) from 2014-2018 and is an examiner for the Fellowship of the European Board of Vascular Surgery.

He has lectured and published extensively on the subjects of treatment of acute and chronic DVT as well as the treatment of superficial venous disease in addition to other areas of vascular surgery and education. He is currently on the Editorial Board for International Angiology.

Prof Black is the global and UK principal investigator for a number of ongoing trials and actively involved in research to improve the treatment of patients with venous disease and have been involved a number of first in man procedures.

Prof Black is also Course Director of Vascular Interventions Online (VIO).