Professor Philip Coleridge Smith

Award of Excellence for Promotion of Research and Scientific Standards in Phlebology

Mr Coleridge Smith is a Reader in Surgery at UCL Medical School, London UK. He pioneered the introduction of duplex ultrasonography in the clinical investigation of venous disease in the UK. He is well known for his many publications on venous disease, particularly those related to the pathogenesis of venous ulceration. With others he published a theory suggesting that leucocyte trapping in the microcirculation of the lower limb during venous hypertension is part of the mechanism that leads to skin damage and venous ulceration of the leg. This publication appeared in the British Medical Journal in 1988. Subsequently he undertook a considerable amount of work to clarify the mechanisms at work in venous disease. This work has been published in many articles and summarised in a book (Microcirculation in Venous Disease. Coleridge Smith PD (Ed). Landes Bioscience, Austin, TX, USA. 1998). More recently he has investigated the incidence of deep vein thrombosis in passengers on long haul flights. This work has been published in the Lancet. (Scurr JH, Machin SJ, Bailey-King S, Mackie IJ, McDonald S, Coleridge Smith PD. Frequency and prevention of symptomless deep-vein thrombosis in long-haul flights: a randomised trial. Lancet. 2001; 357:1485-9). Mr Coleridge Smith has pioneered the introduction of ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy for the treatment of varicose veins into the UK and keeps series of over one thousand patients under review.

In 1992 Mr Coleridge Smith became Editor in Chief of Phlebology and saw great advance in the scientific standards of this journal. In 2003 he left Phlebology to become editor of the European Journal for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery with responsibility for papers on venous disease.