Venous leg ulcer
Venous leg ulcer
Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) are a major health concern worldwide. Late-stage chronic venous disease is the most common cause of leg ulceration, affecting up to 4% of the elderly population. These wounds cause chronic pain, sleeplessness, and reduced quality of life. In addition, they present an important societal and financial burden, with reduced work productivity.
The main mechanisms of venous ulcers are reflux, venous outflow obstruction, or a combination of both, and are predominantly found within the gaiter area above the medial malleolus. Venous ulcers, although more common, are often mistaken for arterial ulcers, which range from 10% to 30% of all lower extremity ulcerations.
Venous leg ulceration is a condition with a complex care pathway. Ulcers can become recalcitrant and difficult to heal if they aren’t fully treated, which includes addressing and treating swelling with compression, caring for the wound bed, and treating the underlying pathophysiology by eliminating the pathologic veins.
The benefit of early endovenous treatment in venous ulceration demonstrated that early removal of a superficial venous reflux in patients with leg ulcer, combined with appropriate elastic compression, reduces healing time and increases time to recurrence without ulcer.
Early referral is important to assess and treat the underlying venous etiology, which is imperative when treating patients with chronic leg ulceration.
Tailored Approaches to Venous Ulcers
Venous leg ulcers could be a manifestation of pathology ranging from saphenous or deep vein reflux, obstruction, or elevated central venous pressure. in our Vein and foot clinic, we Consider evaluating all causes of edema, which is vital to the management of VLUs.
We Mandate a duplex test for every VLU to understand in depth the cause of venous insufficiency before considering any intervention.
Patients with mixed superficial and deep venous disease, treatment plan is tailored specific to each patient based on a detailed clinical assessment supported by appropriate venous investigations.
We individualize care based on the patient’s age, history of DVT, state of the infrainguinal deep vein disease, comorbidities, other causes of edema, and response to the initial superficial venous therapy.
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Conditions We Treat
- Varicose veins
- Superficial Venous Thrombosis Phlebitis
- Thread / spider veins
- Swollen leg
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
- May turners syndrome
- Varicose veins in pregnancy
- Varicose veins in obese patients
- Restless leg syndrome
- Varicose veins of the testicles
- Recurrent Varicose Veins
- Hidden Varicose Veins
- Hemosiderin Brown Stains
- Lipo dermatosclerosis (LDS)
- Venous Eczema
- Leg Ulcers
- Vaginal and Vulval Varicose Veins
- Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (PCS)
