Venous Ulcers
Venous Ulcers & Stasis Dermatitis Before Treatment
Treatment Options
Venous ulcers (open sores) can occur when the veins in your legs do not push blood back up to your heart as well as they should. This is called chronic venous insufficiency or reflux. Blood backs up in the veins, building up pressure. If not treated, increased pressure and excess fluid in the affected area can cause an open sore to form. Most venous ulcers occur on the leg, above the ankle. This type of wound can be slow to heal.
Causes of Venous Ulcers
The cause of venous ulcers is high pressure in the veins of the lower leg. The veins have one-way valves that keep blood flowing up toward your heart. When these valves become weak or the veins become scarred and blocked, blood can flow backward and pool in your legs. This is called venous insufficiency. This leads to high pressure in the lower leg veins. The increase in pressure and buildup of fluid prevents nutrients and oxygen from getting to tissues. The lack of nutrients causes cells to die, damaging the tissue, and a wound can form.
Signs & Symptoms
When blood pools in the veins of the lower leg, fluid and blood cells leak out into the skin and other tissues. This can cause discolored, itchy, thin skin and lead to skin changes called stasis dermatitis. This is an early sign of venous insufficiency. If this process goes unchecked, then skin will eventually break down and form an ulcer.
Wound Care/Treatment
In addition to local wound care and compression therapy, laser and injection treatment of dysfunctional veins will help speed up wound healing by rerouting blood through health veins and improve delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the wound bed.
Images on this page are of a patient with persistent venous ulcers and irritated skin (stasis dermatitis) of the right leg despite using compression and wound care. Dr Nightingale used minimally invasive techniques to close off problem veins (venous ablation), along with foam sclerotherapy, to address the issue.
Venous Ulcers & Stasis Dermatitis Before Treatment
Venous Ulcers & Stasis Dermatitis After Treatment
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