Is it normal to feel pain 10 days after foam sclerotherapy?

Question

I wore stockings for 5 days and didn't feel much pain. Now, at night I take them off. My veins got a bit swollen where the procedure took place and my leg hurts, I can't walk naturally. Is this normal? My doctor is out of town for 3 more weeks. Can I wait for an appointment until then or should I call him immediately? For how long should I take ibuprofen? Can I apply a cooling gel (horsbalm) to the affected area? Thank you!

Kevin Haney, MD · Answer

The pain you're experiencing is not unusual. It should go away in a brief amount of time. Unfortunately, sclerotherapy is typically a little slower healing process than other vein treatments. If the pain and issues persists, please contact your vein specialist. Best of luck!

Tif Siragusa, MD · Answer

Sclerotherapy is used to treat a variety of different vein sizes. If you had very small spider veins treated, it would be very unusual to have any discomfort at this point. Sometimes we inject larger veins (varicose veins).  When we inject these larger vans it sets up a larger inflammatory process. This can lead to pain in the treated veins for up to 2 to 3 weeks. If you are having pain that affects your ability to walk, although very uncommon, you may have a blood clot. Even though your doctor is gone, his/her office should be able to arrange an ultrasound for you to make sure nothing serious is going on. That is what I would recommend.

Susan Fox, DO, RPVI · Answer

It is normal to feel some mild aching or discomfort as the veins go away.  This should not be bad or cause the leg to swell much.  I would have the leg evaluated to play it safe.  See your physician or go and have an ultrasound at an urgent care of vascular facility to make sure that you have not formed a deep blood clot causing your problems.

John Landi, MD · Answer

It is not normal to have leg pain 10 days after foam sclerotherapy and sclerotherapy should not affect your walking.  I would recommend that you follow up with your treating physician or someone covering him.  It is always prudent to rule out any potential problem such a DVT.

Lisa Perez, MD · Answer

It is not uncommon to have pain after foam sclerotherapy especially if a large vein was treated. Sometimes an inflammatory condition called phlebitis develops which is painful. The area can also appear red and feel warm. This typically responds well to warm compresses several times a day for a few days in conjunction with anti-inflammatory medication. Compression stockings should also be worn.  If symptoms do not improve or worsen over the next 2-3 days then you need to be seen by a physician and be evaluated.

Michael Nguyen, MD · Answer

Treatment response can vary for different patients, but in general it is typically temporary. Follow up with your physician if the changes you are seeing worsen or if the pain and/or swelling increase or any other new symptom arise. A venous ultrasound should be done to evaluated venous circulation patency to prevent any future complication, your doctor can order this test from anywhere he/she might be or refer you to the proper place in the meantime. Thank you for your question and good luck!

Brian Heeringa, MD, FACS · Answer

The amount of pain you describe sounds more than what I would typically expect but if larger varicose veins were treated this could be normal.  I suspect you likely have a degree of retained coagulum (clot in the treated veins) but it is impossible to know without pictures or an exam.  This is not dangerous and is fairly common after sclerotherapy of larger veins but it can cause tenderness.  Symptoms can improve more rapidly if the coagulum is extracted.  In addition to ibuprofen, you can try alternating warm and cold compresses and resume compression stocking use.

Ivan Brooks, MD · Answer

Depending on the size of the vessel that was closed off, the level of pain can be affected. The larger the vessel, the more discomfort afterwards. If pain continues to worsen, I would advise a follow up  ultrasound.

Is it normal to feel pain 10 days after foam sclerotherapy?

Answers (8)

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