Venous Leg Ulcers

Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine Specialists located in Dallas, TX, Fort Worth, TX, Frisco, TX, Overland Park, KS, San Antonio, TX, The Woodlands, TX, Tyler, TX, & Little Rock, AR

The importance of identifying venous leg ulcers early and seeking professional treatment can’t be emphasized enough. Venous ulcers are extremely difficult to heal, with half of all cases remaining open and unhealed for nine months or longer. The skilled team at Wound Evolution in Fort Worth, Dallas, San Antonio, Texas, and Overland Park, Kansas, offers holistic wound care, including advanced therapies that help your venous leg ulcer heal. At the earliest sign of an ulcer, call or book an appointment online.

What Are Venous Leg Ulcers?

Venous leg ulcers, also called venous stasis ulcers, are wounds that form on your lower leg. These ulcers develop when chronic venous insufficiency causes high pressure in a vein. Chronic venous insufficiency develops when one-way valves in a vein weaken and stop working. The valves normally keep blood flowing up your leg as they carry deoxygenated blood back to your heart.

When the valves fail, blood flows backward or refluxes and accumulates in the vein. As blood builds up in the vein, varicose veins develop, and the pressure inside the vein in your lower leg increases. Over time, the pressure forces fluids out of the vein and into the surrounding tissue, damaging the skin and causing an ulcer.

How Can I Recognize Venous Leg Ulcers?

Venous leg ulcers tend to be shallow at first, but they gradually expand to become quite large as the tissue around the edge of the wound continues to deteriorate.

The wound is usually red and may leak or ooze some blood. However, the wound itself is typically painless until an infection develops. Venous ulcers can form anywhere below your knee, but they often appear around your ankle.

What Are the Symptoms of Venous Leg Ulcers?

Patients with venous leg ulcers often have other symptoms like:

Leg pain
Inflammation
Reddish-brown skin discoloration
Leg swelling
Thickened, leathery skin
Stasis dermatitis, an eczema-like condition

Leg pain that’s worse when you stand still and feels better when you elevate your leg is one of the earliest signs of chronic venous insufficiency.

Do Venous Leg Ulcers Require Treatment?

Venous leg ulcers can be dangerous, as they don’t heal on their own or respond well to over-the-counter remedies. The ulcer gets progressively larger and, without treatment, is prone to an infection that can spread. This can lead to a serious skin or bone infection.

How Are Venous Leg Ulcers Treated?

Your venous leg ulcer treatment can be customized to your unique needs. As soon as you notice an ulcer, it’s essential to call Wound Evolution so you can get specialized wound care, including:

Compression therapy
Wound cleaning
Wound debridement
Infection control
Specialized dressings
Bioengineered skin grafts
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Compression therapy is an important part of your treatment if you don't have an infection. Pressure stockings prevent blood reflux, decrease fluid leakage, control edema, and slow disease progression.

Why Choose Wound Evolution?

The team at Wound Evolution - Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine offers holistic care. Our staff can evaluate your diet and ensure you get the extra nutrition needed to support wound healing. Our team of highly-trained providers can also teach you how to take care of your ulcer at home.

Including showing you how to clean the wound, protect the healthy skin around the edges of the ulcer, and change any dressing. If you develop a venous leg ulcer, call Wound Evolution - Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine or book an appointment online today.