A Comparison of the Efficacy and Cost of Different Venous Leg Ulcer Dressings: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Figure 1

Venous leg ulcers are usually located in the “gaiter” region of the leg as shown in the image above. They have certain characteristics: (i) ruddy coloured base, (ii) large area, (iii) shallow depth, (iv) irregular wound margins, (v) moderate to heavy exudates, (vi) pitting or nonpitting oedema, (vii) granulation tissue, (viii) warm skin temperature, and (ix) pulses present with normal capillary refill of less than 2 seconds [13]. Some of these can affect the rate of wound healing. They can be associated with other signs of venous hypertension such as varicosities, haemosiderin pigmentation, atrophy blanche, and varicose eczema [13, 14].