A lot of it depends on the patient's medical problems. A previous IV substance abuser who has used the veins for injections causes them to become sclerotic. That's why even hard core users may eventually resort to injecting the soles of their feet and under the tongue. We have had patients who have such poor veins that we have had to access the larger neck veins or those in the chest and even those are sometimes difficult.
Other causes for difficult access would include someone on anticoagulant therapy or just the aging process itself reduces the elasticity of the vessels. Not having more of a history, it would be difficult to say whether the vessels would "heal" or not.
