• Reference Number: HEY1365/2025
• Departments: Day Surgery (DSC) (CHH), Vascular Surgery
• Last Updated: 30 June 2025

Introduction

This advice sheet has been produced to give you information following your treatment. It does not replace discussion with your healthcare team. If you have questions after reading it please speak with a member of staff.

Your Surgeon is …………………………………………………………

Emergencies

If you have any of the following, then please seek urgent help.

• Have significant bleeding that doesn’t stop (see advice below)
• Have difficulty breathing, chest pain, or cough up blood
• Have severe calf pain and swelling

Before 18.00 on the day of treatment then please call the Day Surgery Unit on: tel: 01482 468103 / tel: 01482 468173 / tel: 01482 468174. 

If after this time, please contact the acute Vascular Surgical Team via ward 7 Hull Royal Infirmary tel: 01482 675007

Contact Information

For non-emergency questions or to request a review then please contact the following:

Monday to Friday (08:00 to 18:00):  tel: 01482 608966 / tel: 01482 608981 / tel: 01482 608968 Vascular Secretaries

Special Instructions:

 Follow-up clinic

Most people do not need routine follow-up after varicose vein treatment. However, if you have concerns, you may request an appointment within 12 weeks. If a follow-up is required, you will be contacted by post.

Dressings

An adhesive bandage will be applied after your treatment. Leave this in place as advised on your discharge sheet.  To remove, soak in a bath or shower to ease removal. All dressings should be removed gently.

Occasionally, adhesive strips can cause small blisters. These usually settle if kept clean and dry. If your bandage feels too tight and you notice foot swelling, toe numbness, or toe discoloration (blue), contact the numbers above immediately.

Pain

Some mild discomfort is expected for up to 5 days but may persist beyond that.  It is rare to have significant pain for more than 2 weeks. Paracetamol or Ibuprofen should provide adequate relief. Please follow the instructions provided with the medication.

Work and exercise

Stay active after your treatment. Avoid sitting with legs hanging or standing still for long periods. Normal daily activities can be resumed immediately but avoid strenuous exercise for the first few days. Gradually increase your activity based on how you feel. You may return to work when comfortable, most people are in a position to return within 2 to 7 days. Avoid public swimming pools until wounds are healed.

Driving

Do not drive for at least 48 hours. Resume driving only when you are pain-free and able to perform an emergency stop comfortably, particularly if your right leg was treated. Check with your insurer and pharmacist if you’re taking new pain medication other than Paracetamol or Ibuprofen.

Travel

Avoid sitting for long periods with bent knees to reduce DVT risk:

• Avoid short-haul flights/journeys (2 to 4 hours) for 2 weeks
• Avoid long-haul flights/journeys (>4 hours) for 4 weeks

Complications

There are potential complications with any medical procedure, some of the most common problems are listed below:

Bleeding

Light pink or red leakage is common and often due to local anaesthetic. If bleeding is dark red and persistent:

• Elevate the leg
• Apply direct pressure to the point of bleeding
• Do not remove the dressing
• Contact us if bleeding does not stop in 30 minutes or blood is continuing to drip onto the floor

Bruising

Bruising is normal and may worsen over the first few days, lasting up to 3 to 4 weeks

Change in sensation

Nerves near the veins may be affected, causing temporary numbness or tingling. This usually resolves over time.

Brown pigmentation of the skin

Light brown staining may occur and usually fades but can occasionally be permanent.

Recurrent Varicose Veins

Recurrence is possible. Treatment addresses symptoms, not cosmetic appearance. Some visible veins may remain despite effective treatment.

Firm Tender Lumps

Tender lumps are common and not usually serious; they tend to settle within weeks but may persist for months. If you develop red, hot, painful lumps then this is often a sign of superficial vein thrombosis (“Phlebitis”). Anti-inflammatory medication (e.g. Ibuprofen) and regular exercise can help. Avoid prolonged rest.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

Uncommon but serious. This is a blood clot in the deep veins in the leg. In order to reduce the risk of this you should move regularly and avoid inactivity. Seek medical advice if your leg becomes swollen, red, and painful. DVT can lead to pulmonary embolism (PE) This is when some of the clot breaks off and moves to the lungs. This can cause chest pain and/or shortness of breath and rarely you may cough up blood.

This leaflet was produced by the Day Surgery Centre, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and will be reviewed in June 2028.

General Advice and Consent

Most of your questions should have been answered by this leaflet, but remember that this is only a starting point for discussion with the healthcare team.

Consent to treatment

Before any doctor, nurse or therapist examines or treats you, they must seek your consent or permission. In order to make a decision, you need to have information from health professionals about the treatment or investigation which is being offered to you. You should always ask them more questions if you do not understand or if you want more information.

The information you receive should be about your condition, the alternatives available to you, and whether it carries risks as well as the benefits. What is important is that your consent is genuine or valid. That means:

• you must be able to give your consent
• you must be given enough information to enable you to make a decision
• you must be acting under your own free will and not under the strong influence of another person

Information about you

We collect and use your information to provide you with care and treatment. As part of your care, information about you will be shared between members of a healthcare team, some of whom you may not meet. Your information may also be used to help train staff, to check the quality of our care, to manage and plan the health service, and to help with research. Wherever possible we use anonymous data.

We may pass on relevant information to other health organisations that provide you with care. All information is treated as strictly confidential and is not given to anyone who does not need it. If you have any concerns please ask your doctor, or the person caring for you.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 we are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any information we hold about you. For further information visit the following page: Confidential Information about You.

If you or your carer needs information about your health and wellbeing and about your care and treatment in a different format, such as large print, braille or audio, due to disability, impairment or sensory loss, please advise a member of staff and this can be arranged.