Why do Leg Ulcers Occur?

The causes of leg ulcers can be put down to 3 main categories

1] Venous Causes (veins not working) - about 80% of leg ulcers

2] Arterial Causes (arteries not working) - about 15% of leg ulcers

3] Other Causes - about 5% of leg ulcers

This website is going to concentrate on Venous Causes of leg ulcers as this is what affects most people - and it is also the easiest to cure in most people.
However, it should be noted that Specialist Vascular Surgeons always check for arterial causes and other causes before treating Venous Leg Ulcers. This is necessary as many leg ulcers occur in older people - and many may have more than one cause of their leg ulcers.

Just because a venous cause is found for the leg ulcer, it doesn't mean to say that there isn't ALSO an arterial or other cause at the same time.

Fortunately, most arterial leg ulcers can be cured by bypass surgery or angioplasty. Therefore, by accurately identifying the cause, we are able to cure many of the leg ulcers - sometimes using combined approaches (ie: treat the arterial cause first followed by the venous cause).

Ulcers identified in 'other causes' need to be treated depending on the specific cause.

Venous Leg Ulcers

To understand how venous leg ulcers occur, you need to have some understanding of the structures in the leg (see animation on the left) and also how the Vein Pump in the leg works. This is explained in full on our 'Veins' website.

Before about 1985, the world of venous disease was viewed very simply. The venous system of the leg was split into 2 - the DEEP system and the SUPERFICIAL system.

Doctors and Nurses used to believe that vein pump failure in each produced different problems - see next page.

If you, or someone you know, are concerned about a leg ulcer or a condition that may lead to leg ulcers then please contact us for more information, or to book an appointment to see one our specialists.