AFTER CARE
After whatever method of Varicose Vein treatment you have, you will be given stockings to wear in the period after the treatment. These are used to reduce bruising and by driving the blood through the deep veins reduce the risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). The length of time you wear them depends on the treatment used.
Following Surgery
You will recover from the anaesthetic in bandages on the ward and after a couple of hours you will be put into stockings. Usually after about 3 to 4 hours when the anaesthetic has worn off you will be allowed to go home. You will need someone to take you home you will be given painkillers to go home with.
You will need to keep the stockings on night and day for a week until the stitches are removed. You will be given an appointment to see us after a week to check the leg and remove any stitches.
You will need to walk about a mile a day, the first few days are usually relatively pain free, but an ache will start after the local anaesthetic wears off on day 4. This ache lasts until about day 8 or 9. You will have bruising which comprises of a stain under the skin which wears off in 10 to 15 days and some hard lumps deeper in the leg which take 6 to 8 weeks to go.
You will not be able to drive for about 10 days, after which time you would be able to perform an emergency stop safely. Most people will take between a week and 10 days off work
We do not like you to fly short haul (3 hours max) for 3 weeks and long haul (over 4 hours) for 6 weeks. You must wear your stockings for the flight.
Following VNUS
You will recover for about half an hour in outpatients with a cup of tea. You will already be wearing the stockings we have put on your legs as part of the procedure. We don’t like you to drive home from the procedure but you will be able to drive the next day. You will need to wear the stockings for a week day and night. We ask you to walk a mile a day for that week. After this you will need to wear the stockings in the day only for a further week. The first few days are almost pain free, but some people get some ache in the thigh or calf after about 4 days. This is much less than the ache of surgery however and does not reduce your ability to exercise. Any bruising is restricted to a small area in the mid thigh or calf, depending on which vein has been treated. After about 2 weeks most people will feel a cord from the inside of the top of the thigh down to the knee about 1 to 2 centimetres under the skin. This will disappear over the next few weeks and is the scar tissue healing after the vein has been sealed off. Most people do not need to take any painkillers after VNUS but Paracetamol can be useful for some.
Most people are able to return to work the next day.
You will be given an appointment to come and see us after 2 weeks and any residual veins under the skin can be injected then. After any injections you will be asked to wear the stockings for another few days, depending on the size of the veins.
There is no evidence of an increased risk of DVT on flying after VNUS but to be on the safe side I would recommend a fortnight before short haul and 4 weeks before long haul. You must wear your stockings for the flight.
Following Laser (EVLT)
Like VNUS you will recover with a cup of tea for 30 minutes or so but on the ward, as Laser has to be used in theatre. You will need someone to take you home after the procedure. As with VNUS You will be wearing the stockings again for a week night and day and for a further week in the day time only. You can drive the next day but you may not feel comfortable enough after 4 days or so. Again we will ask you to walk a mile a day. The bruising comes out after about 4 days and you will see some skin staining this will take about 2 weeks to disappear. Underneath this bruising you will feel the same deeper cord as with VNUS. The cord is usually sore and will take about 6 to 8 weeks to disappear. Your leg will ache after 4 days and this aching will last for about another 10 days.
You can return to work the next day.
You will come to see us after 2 weeks and we can inject any residual veins under the skin then. Again you will be asked to wear the stockings for a few days the number of which depends on the size of the veins.
Again to be cautious we recommend you don’t fly for a fortnight short haul and 4 weeks long haul.
Following Duplex guided Foam Sclerotherapy
You will be able to go home immediately after the stockings are put on at the end of the injections. You can drive home.
After this procedure everyone needs to wear stockings however some will have an extra wedge of compression rubber placed over the vein to reduce bruising. This rubber wedge can be removed after 2 days but the stockings must stay on for a week night and day and in the daytime only for a further week. You will feel some ache develop after 4 days and this may become quite sore and need painkillers for a week or so. When the stockings come off you will feel lumps under the skin but there will be little visible bruising. Again these lumps can take 6 to 8 weeks to go. Where the vein passes close to the skin you may see some brown staining which can take some weeks to disappear or more rarely fade but remain visible.
Please contact us for information and we would be delighted to answer any questions you might have.
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