Hundreds of patients seeking treatment for a controversial group of vascular conditions have been left in limbo after the Medical Council imposed restrictions on one of the few doctors helping them.
Hamilton vascular surgeon Chris Holdaway is no longer able to consult patients with the connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) who are also suspected of having abdominal vascular compression syndromes.
The 71-year-old has become one of the country's most prominent advocates for patients with EDS and suspected vascular compression syndromes. He has seen around 200 EDS patients with the condition, which can cause chronic pain, gastrointestinal symptoms and often an inability to tolerate food.
Holdway, who was interviewed for the RNZ podcast All In Her Head - which examines the debate around EDS and vascular compressions - believes many patients have been misdiagnosed or dismissed before reaching him. His advocacy has attracted strong support from some patients who say they have struggled to obtain diagnoses, but criticism from some medical colleagues.
While individual abdominal vascular compression syndromes are recognised conditions, there is no medical consensus about whether it is possible to have more than one at a time. Yet EDS patients are being diagnosed with multiple abdominal compression syndromes - sometimes up to four - at once.
Medical Council's intervention
The Medical Council said it could not comment on the circumstances of any individual doctor but it could impose conditions on a doctor's scope of practice where necessary to protect public safety.
"The Medical Council's role is to protect the health and safety of the public by ensuring doctors are competent and fit to practise," council chair Dr Kenneth Clark said in a statement to RNZ.
Dr Holdaway declined to comment on the decision or its impact but a note circulated to patients from advocates Rachel McKenna and Zalie Doyle said the restrictions preventing him from consulting EDS patients with abdominal vascular compression syndromes were temporary.
He could still see EDS patients for other conditions, including thoracic outlet syndrome and Eagle Syndrome. Patients already undergoing investigations may be eligible for a follow up appointment to review scan results, the letter said.
RNZ understands the council is set to review Holdaway's case on Thursday, with a decision expected next week.
'Desperate' patients
Holdaway was an advocate for patients seeking surgical treatment overseas, despite Health New Zealand warning these operations were experimental and risked death. Despite the warnings, dozens of New Zealand patients had undergone surgical treatment for multiple compressions in Germany, and more recently in Australia.
Whakatāne woman Rachel Weatherly, a former patient of Dr Holdaway, believed the current restrictions on his practice would leave patients without anywhere else to go.
"I think it will eventually cost lives. My inbox is already full of parents reaching out desperate to know if there's someone else that they can take their child to see, and I just don't have the answer for them," she said.
Weatherly had surgery in Australia with vascular surgeon Gert Frahm-Jensen in September 2025 which resolved many of her symptoms.
Holdaway diagnosed her vascular compressions, which had been dismissed by Health New Zealand specialists, and gave her hope she could find someone to help her.
"I think that hope's now been stripped away for others, which is not going to be really good for families."
In their note to patients, McKenna and Doyle said it was understandable people would feel frightened, angry or disappointed by the situation.
"But how we respond to this situation matters. How we conduct ourselves as a patient community is particularly important right now."
They urged patients not to pressure Holdaway or his staff, saying he had spent years supporting patients in "an extremely difficult and controversial area". They should seek care through GPs or other specialists while the situation remained unresolved.
