Venous ulcers are common, chronic frequently occurring wounds in leg. The characteristic of wound is that it never heals without proper treatment.
How does a venous ulcer look like?
They are located on lower one third of leg, on inner aspect just above ankle.
Who can develop a venous ulcer?
Patients of varicose veins
Improperly treated patients of DVT
What are the complications of long standing, non-healing venous ulcers?
Infection
Ankle joint movement restrictions
Rarely cancer changes (Marjolin’s ulcer, one type of skin cancer)
Tired of non-healing venous ulcer?
Consult a vascular surgeon, he can find the root cause of your ulcer & help you to get rid of it.
What are the treatment strategies?
It requires combination of wound care + correction of underlying root cause. Treatment plan: Wound cleaning + weekly 4 layer bandage compression dressing WITH
Treatment of varicose veins, if present
Venous stenting / angioplasty for vein blockage in old DVT patients, if present
Procedure & principles are similar to vascular stenting procedure, the only difference is that stent is used to open blocked veins.
Opened up veins help by improving drainage of impure blood from legs & hence promotes ulcer healing.
How to prevent venous ulcer development/recurrence?
Take treatment from a qualified vascular surgeon if you have varicose veins or Acute DVT, it will help you to prevent future development of venous ulcer.