Leg Ulcers

Treatment of Leg Ulcers With Foam Sclerotherapy

Leg ulcers are open wounds on your leg that take more than two weeks to heal despite treatment and typically appear between the ankle and knee.

They often seep (ooze fluid or pus) and can grow larger if left untreated. A sore on your leg that doesn't heal after three months of treatment is considered a chronic condition.

If you have a venous leg ulcer, you may also have:

swollen ankles (oedema)

discolouration and darkening of the skin around the ulcer

hardened skin around the ulcer

a heavy feeling in your legs

aching or swelling in your legs

red, flaky, scaly and itchy skin on your legs (varicose eczema)

swollen and enlarged veins on your legs (varicose veins)

a high temperature (fever) if the ulcer is infected

Venous leg ulcers

A venous leg ulcer is caused by damage to the vein(s) in the lower leg, which become weaker. The weakened vein walls prevent the valves in the veins from closing sufficiently. If the valves cannot close properly, some of the venous blood backflows when the heart beats and the pressure inside the vein increases, pushing small components of the venous blood across the vein wall into the surrounding flesh and skin. This damages the flesh and breaks the skin. Because the vein is weak and leaking, the skin cannot heal.

We have deep veins (inside the leg muscles) and superficial veins (outside the leg muscles) and small veins (perforators) connecting them together. Either or both may be damaged.

Veins can become damaged due to a number of reasons, including;

injury

previous fracture of the bones in the leg, ankle or foot

previous operations

clot (DVT)

increased abdominal weight (pregnancies or obesity)

Treatment:

There are a range of available treatments for venous ulcers including:

• Regular wound cleaning by a healthcare professional
• Compression
• Varicose Vein Removal via sclerotherapy
• Infected Ulcers can be treated antibiotics
• Bypass surgery for arterial ulcers

If you have a leg ulcer and would like advice and to discuss recommended treatments please call us.