STUDY PROTOCOL article
Front. Med.
Sec. Precision Medicine
Effect of different durations of Compression tHerapy on quality of life and rEcurrence after thermal abLation for varicOse veiNs: a protocol for a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial
Lin Yang 1
Zhang Zhang 2
Chunmin Li 3
Ruipeng Zhang 4
Liang Wang 5
Jiehua Qiu 6
Wenbin Zhang 7
1. The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
2. Air Force Medical University Tangdu Hospital, Xi'an, China
3. Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
4. Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'An, China
5. Dongguan People’s Hospital, Dongguan, China
6. Nanchang University Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang, China
7. The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
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Abstract
ABSTRACT Background: Compression therapy is routinely recommended after the thermal ablation of varicose veins (VVs), but the optimal duration of treatment remains controversial. International guidelines acknowledge the lack of evidence to support a specific duration of compression therapy (grade 2C). In current clinical practice, the selection of therapy options (1–3 months or even longer) rely mainly on the clinical judgment of physicians, with significant variability in patient compliance and quality of life. This trial aims to determine the effects of different compression durations (1, 3, and 6 months) on recurrence, quality of life, and complications at 12 months after surgery. Methods: This will be a prospective, multicenter, randomized, parallel-group trial. This study will include 600 patients with great saphenous vein insufficiency (C2–C6) treated with endovenous radiofrequency or laser ablation at 7 high-volume centers. The participants will be randomly assigned to the following groups at a 1:1:1 ratio: the one-month (OM) group, which will wear class II compression stockings (23–32 mmHg) for 1 month after surgery; the three-month (TM) group, which will wear compression stockings for 3 months; and the six-month (SM) group, which will wear compression stockings for 6 months. All the groups will wear the same compression stockings and follow the same instructions for wearing the stockings. The primary outcome is the recurrence of VVs at 12 months; the secondary outcomes include the closure rate of the great saphenous vein, disease-specific quality of life assessed by the Aberdeen Varicose Vein Questionnaire (AVVQ), the Chronic Lower Limb Venous
Summary
Keywords
Compression stockings, Compression therapy, protocol, Quality of Life, randomized controlled trial, Recurrence, Thermal ablation, Varicose Veins
Received
22 December 2025
Accepted
17 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Yang, Zhang, Li, Zhang, Wang, Qiu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Lin Yang
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