Venous ulcers develop as the consequence of chronic venous insufficiency.  They represent the end-stage of the progression of changes which result from chronic venous hypertension which results from venous valvular insufficiency.  These can be very difficult to get to heal using conventional measures.  The mainstay of therapy is external compression.  Using external compression can result in healing of 90% of venous ulcers.  External compression can be accomplished through a no-stretch wrap such as an Unna Boot, use of graduated compression stockings (usually at least 30-40 mm Hg* compression at the ankle; these are also termed class II compression stockings.) or a no-stretch device such as the Circ-Aid.  Our preference is to achieve wound healing prior to performing any surgical or laser intervention in order to minimize the risk of infection.

(*mm Hg means millimeters of mercury.  These are the units that we use to measure your blood pressure.  For example, a common arm blood pressure is 120 mm Hg systolic and 80 mm Hg diastolic.)