Leg Ulcer

An ulcer or leg wound can be caused due to many reasons and can often have more than than one factor as the reason for not healing. The major types of non-healing ulcers can be classified as

Arterial ulcers

An arterial ulcer lacks healing due to inadequate blood supply to a part of the body. It may start as a result of minor injury or with gangrene of the area.

Untreated these ulcers may show further blackish change or gangrene and develop severe pain which would not respond to pain killer medication.

The presence of arterial ulcers shows severe blood flow problems in a limb. Treatment would consist of blood-thinning medication followed by an angiogram to assess the site and extent of blockage in the vessels.

Once defined the blockages can be treated by angioplasty and stenting or bypass surgery to restore blood flow to the limb.

Venous ulcer