The first two weeks after vein treatment

The first fortnight after vein treatment brings a few sensations that are easier to interpret when you know to expect them, along with a short list of things that are worth acting on.

How much walking to do

The instinct after any procedure is to sit down and keep the leg up. After vein treatment, walking is what helps.

Walking keeps blood moving through the deep veins, which is the aim in the days after a superficial vein has been closed. Most people are asked to walk on the same day, and to keep walking regularly rather than doing one long march and then sitting for hours. The aim of walking is to help reduce your risk of a DVT or deep venous thrombosis.

What to avoid is the opposite extreme: long periods standing still, or sitting motionless with the legs down. Movement is good, stillness is not, and that is true whether you are upright or not.

Stockings, and why they are recommended

Compression stockings after treatment reduce swelling, reduce bruising and make the leg more comfortable than it would otherwise be.

You will be told how long to wear them and whether that includes overnight, because it varies with what was done. The instruction that matters most is to follow the period you are given rather than stopping when the leg feels fine — it often feels fine well before the work is finished. Usually the instruction is to wear them day and night for the first week, then during the day only for the second — though the instructions you are given for your own treatment are the ones to follow.

If a stocking is genuinely unbearable, uncomfortably tight, or leaving marks that do not fade, that is worth a phone call rather than giving up on them.

What bruising and tightness mean

Two things surprise people, and both are normal.

Bruising. Often more than expected, sometimes extending well beyond where anything was done, and sometimes appearing a few days later rather than straight away. It fades through the usual colours over a couple of weeks.

A firm, tender cord. Where a vein has been closed, it can feel like a tight string under the skin, sometimes uncomfortable when you stretch the leg. This is the treated vein closing as intended. It softens over several weeks, and a slight firmness can linger longer than the tenderness does.

Both of these are part of the normal healing process from vein surgery.

Driving, work and exercise

These depend on what was done, which leg, and what you do for a living, so the useful answer comes from the written instructions you are given on the day rather than from a blog post.

As a general shape: most people return to desk work quickly, to driving once they could perform an emergency stop without hesitating, and to gentle exercise sooner than to heavy lifting or long-haul flights. Ask specifically about anything you have booked.

What is not expected

Contact someone if you have:

• swelling of the whole leg, rather than the treated area
• calf pain that is getting worse rather than better
• spreading redness, or a fever and feeling unwell
• bleeding from a puncture site that does not stop with pressure

And call 999 for sudden breathlessness or chest pain.

None of these are likely. They are listed because knowing the short list of things to act on makes the long list of normal things easier to ignore.

Follow-up is part of the treatment

A follow-up appointment is an important part of your treatment. It is when we can check the treatment has been successful for you, and where anything that needs a second look gets one.

It is also where to raise the small things you did not think warranted a phone call. They usually have straightforward answers, and that is what the appointment is for.