Managing venous stasis disease and ulcers.

Venous leg ulcers are arguably the most common type of venous ulcers seen in clinical practice. Compression therapy is the essential intervention in venous leg ulcer treatment, but coexisting arterial vascular insufficiency must be excluded before compression is initiated. No single topical dressing has been shown to be superior for all wounds. Venous leg ulcers are chronic and often difficult to heal, with only 40% to 70% healing after 6 months of treatment. Surgical procedures to reduce venous hypertension do not accelerate healing of a chronic ulcer, but trials suggest a decreased rate of future recurrence after surgery.