After varicose vein surgery
Immediately following the procedure, you will return to the ward, either directly if local anaesthetic was used, or via the recovery area if you underwent a general anaesthetic. After surgery your leg(s) will be bandaged in a light wool and elastic bandage. This is to help with postoperative bruising and to apply pressure to the area from which the veins have been removed.
It is likely that you will feel some discomfort immediately after the procedure, but this will be easily managed with simple analgesia such as Paracetamol and Ibuprofen.
How much discomfort you feel can be related to the extent of the procedure that has been performed, and this ranges from very little discomfort to sharper pain requiring analgesia. In most cases this settles rapidly, becoming a dull ache which subsides over the next week.
The treated vein in the thigh is occasionally felt through the skin like a tender 'cord'. This settles over the course of a few weeks as the inflammation subsides. Rarely, some patients get a feeling of numbness or altered sensation over the vein. You should remove the bandaging 1 day following the procedure and replace them with the stockings you have been provided with. You should wear the stockings during the day and night for the first week after the surgery.