RESEARCH ARTICLE


The Impact of Lower Extremity Venous Ulcers due to Chronic Venous Insufficiency on Quality of Life



Sotirios A Koupidis1, Kosmas I Paraskevas2, Vassilios Stathopoulos3, Dimitri P Mikhailidis*, 4
1 Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece
2 Department of Vascular Surgery, Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece
3 2nd Department of Surgery, “Agia Olga” Hospital, Athens, Greece
4 Department of Clinical Biochemistry (Vascular Disease Prevention Clinics), Royal Free Hospital Campus, University College Medical School, University College London (UCL), London, UK


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Creative Commons License
© Koupidis et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Clinical Biochemistry (Vascular Disease Prevention Clinics), Royal Free Hospital Campus, Pond street, London NW3 2QG, UK; E-mail: MIKHAILIDIS@aol.com


Abstract

Lower extremity venous ulcers comprise a complex medical and social issue. The conservative and/or surgical management of venous ulcers is often inadequate. In addition, the psychosocial aspect of the disease is often overlooked and most often undertreated. Common symptoms such as pain, low self-esteem and patient isolation are usually not recognized and therefore not adequately managed.

This mini-review summarizes the current data on the management of lower extremity venous ulcers and their impact on the quality of life of these patients.

Key Words: Venous leg ulcers, quality of life, lower extremity venous ulcers..