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A venous ulcer tends to occur on the medial side of the leg, typically around the medial malleolus in the 'gaiter area' whereas arterial ulcer tends to occur on lateral side of the leg and over bony prominences. A venous ulcer is typically shallow with irregular sloping edges whereas an arterial ulcer can be deep and has a 'punched out' appearance.
Venous ulcers are common and very difficult to treat. Chronic venous ulcers are painful and debilitating. Even with treatment, recurrences are common if venous hypertension persists. Nearly 60% develop phlebitis which often progresses to deep vein thrombosis in more than 50% of patients. The venous insufficiency can also lead to severe hemorrhage.
Potential complications of venous stasis are: Venous ulcers; Blood clot formation in veins (venous thrombosis), that can occur in the deep veins of the legs (deep vein thrombosis, DVT) or in the superficial veins; Id reactions [1]
This valvular incompetence combined with persistent venous obstruction from thrombus increases the pressure in veins and capillaries. Venous hypertension induces a rupture of small superficial veins, subcutaneous hemorrhage [7] and an increase of tissue permeability. That is manifested by pain, swelling, discoloration, and even ulceration.
Traditionally, varicose veins were investigated using imaging techniques only if there was a suspicion of deep venous insufficiency, if they were recurrent, or if they involved the saphenopopliteal junction. This practice is now less widely accepted. People with varicose veins should now be investigated using lower limbs venous ultrasonography.
Stasis dermatitis is diagnosed clinically by assessing the appearance of red plaques on the lower legs and the inner side of the ankle. Stasis dermatitis can resemble a number of other conditions, such as cellulitis and contact dermatitis, and at times needs the use of a duplex ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis or if clinical diagnosis alone is not sufficient.
The management of lipodermatosclerosis may include treating venous insufficiency with leg elevation and elastic compression stockings. [9] In some difficult cases, the condition may be improved with the additional use of the fibrinolytic agent, stanozol. Fibrinolytic agents use an enzymatic action to help dissolve blood clots.
Maggots in medical packaging. Maggot therapy improves healing in chronic ulcers. [1] In diabetic foot ulcers there is tentative evidence of benefit. [3] A Cochrane review of methods for the debridement of venous leg ulcers found maggot therapy to be broadly as effective as most other methods, but the study also noted that the quality of data was poor.