Chronic Venous Ulcers: Causes and Treatments

If you have ever come across the word ulcer, you certainly understand that it’s very painful to begin with. On a basic level, ulcers are sores. The only difference between a sore and an ulcer, however, is the fact that ulcers are slow when it comes to healing, and can return like an unwanted visitor, multiple times, to be precise. They don’t have a particular shape or size, and it all depends on the part that has been affected. Scarily enough, ulcers can occur both inside and outside the body.

One form of ulcer is the venous ulcer, found on the legs. These can be big and very painful, and can take several months to heal. If left untreated, it could lead to many complications, even life-threatening ones. Therefore, if you develop a sore on your leg that seems to grow and takes time to go away, you might very well be suffering from what is called a venous ulcer.

What does it look like?

Like mentioned above, these ulcers don’t have a particular form. However, venous ulcers are easy to identify as they are pretty large.

• They are found on legs
• They can either be red patches oozing fluids, or darkened swelled patches

Once you are able to identify them, your next step is to consult a doctor immediately.

Why does it happen?

There are many reasons why you could have a venous ulcer. To begin with, it could be sparked off by an injury, followed by an infection. However, there might be underlying reasons too. Let’s understand.

• Blood pressure: When blood pressure builds up in the veins in the legs, it causes the fluids to ooze out of the veins, beneath the skin to cause inflammation and damage, which leads to the breaking down of the skin, eventually resulting in an ulcer.
• Blood clot: Sometimes, there might be a blood clot in a vein in the leg, known as Deep vein thrombosis or DVT. This can also lead to ulcers.
• Osteoarthritis: Surprisingly, this issue with joints can also cause you to have ulcers in your legs.
• Varicose veins: Typically enlarged/swollen and twisted veins in the legs, these cause backflow of blood, often leading to venous ulcers.

What do you do if you it?

If you have a venous ulcer, please do not ignore it. Also, it’s best not to assume you have one. With the above information, even though you will be able to identify it, yet, it’s best to let the expert take a call. Please consult a doctor to be sure.

Now, depending on what it’s size is like, your doctor will be able to recommend appropriate treatments for you. If it’s small, then tight bandaging should work. However, most of the times, these ulcers are rather large, and will entail the expertise of a Plastuc surgeon. In such cases, please do not hesitate.

A CosmoSure, we had a patient who presented with Chronic Venous Ulcer. Post diagnosis, we performed negative pressure therapy, in which a vacuum assissted closure dressing is used to assist the healing of the wound. This is done mostly for chronic wounds that are particularly large. Sub-atmospheric pressure is applied in a controlled manner. After this, we went for a split skin graft.

You can look at how bad the ulcer was before treatment, and how it looked after the procedure was completed.

Thanks to such techniques, you won’t lead a restricted life. Having such open ulcers can make you highly prone to infections, which, you would understand is far from ideal. So, even if you are unable to prevent the occurrence of such ulcers, you can always treat them at the hands of well-renowned plastic surgeons such as those at CosmoSure!

ABOUT COSMOSURE CLINIC

‘CosmoSure’ is a renowned a cosmetic surgery clinic in Hyderabad, which is considered to be the meeting point for science & art. Established in the year 2015, CosmoSure, cosmetic surgery clinic has been one of the most preferred cosmetic clinics in Hyderabad. All the procedures at Cosmosure clinic are a blend of a skilled & artistic touch. Our specialists are trained with in-depth knowledge of aesthetic science and symmetry to help individuals to improve their skin health.