Dermatológia pre prax 1/2020

Management of non healing leg ulcer

Leg ulcer is a relatively frequent disease that results in a significant reduction of patients’ quality of life and requires an expensive, long-term treatment. Successful treatment of leg ulcers depends on making the right diagnosis. When making a diagnosis, it is essential to perform the Doppler measurement and complete a clinical examination for each leg ulcer. Additionally, in some cases, a skin biopsy must be taken from the edge of the ulcer. The most common cause of these ulcers is a chronic venous insufficiency, but arterial and neuropathic ulcers are also common. Ulcers that are resistant to treatment are typically those that do not progress to healing despite active treatments lasting more than twelve weeks. If an ulcer does not heal despite a well-established cause and an appropriate treatment, it is necessary to return to the initial findings and re-evaluate the diagnosis.

Keywords: leg ulcer, diagnostics, examination, Doppler measurement, biopsy, treatment, reevaluation