Venous Leg Ulcer
Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) are open wounds between the knee and ankle joint, often on the inside of the leg. They typically have an irregular shape and well-defined borders. Symptoms include limb heaviness, itching, pain, and swelling that worsens throughout the day and improves when the leg is elevated.
Venous insufficiency is the most common cause of lower-leg ulcers, accounting for nearly 80% of all cases. Arterial disease accounts for another 5% to 10% of leg ulcers; most other ulcers are due to either neuropathy (usually diabetic) or a combination of those diseases.
Chronic lower limb ulcer is a wound of the leg that has not healed after 3 months of appropriate treatment or is still not fully healed at 12 months.
At the Convacare clinics, your lower limb ulcer (LLU) will be treated as follows:
We will assess the blood flow to your leg using an ABPI (ankle brachial pressure index test). This will tell us if your ulcer is venous, arterial or mixed.
Venous: Use compression bandages to treat the cause of the non-healing wound.
Arterial: Work with a vascular surgeon to optimize the blood flow to facilitate wound healing.
We will educate you on how to prevent the wound recurring.