Compression Options for Managing Venous Leg Ulcers

In this interview, Dr. Callie Horn speaks on the topic of compression and the various options available for managing venous leg ulcers. To read more on the topic, read the May Special Topic supplement on venous leg ulcers here.
 

Transcript:

Callie Horn: Hello. My name is Callie Horn. I'm a fourth year general surgery resident at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. I'm currently doing a one-year research fellowship with Dr. Lantis in wound care.

There are many options out there for compression for patients with venous leg ulcers. Ultimately, these ulcers tend to be very, very painful, and so working with your patient and finding the type of compression that they're able to wear consistently is what is really the best option.

Of the choices out there for compression, there's a wide range. You have your four-layer bandage, which tends to be a stiffer wrap. Additionally, now there are many two-layer bandages on the market that seem to be, through many trials, equally effective at providing adequate compression for those with venous leg ulcers.

And past those multi-layer wraps, there are some additional things like the tubular elastic compression garment. There are some inelastic compression garments, and there's also the adjunct intermittent pneumatic compression, which is also available for some patients to use while at home.

So another factor to consider with these compression therapies is who's applying it and how is it applied? And so many of the compression therapies do need to be applied by a trained clinician. So these are your four-layer bandages, your two-layer bandages. However, we do want to provide some autonomy for patients, especially maybe once their venous leg ulcers have closed. So there are many other options, like our classical compression stocking, which can be used traditionally after the ulcer has closed.

Additionally, there's the tubular elastic bandage, which can be taken on and off, and there's also the inelastic bandage, which is a Velcro device, which again, can be removed at night in the evening and removed for showers, but it's more patient friendly to put on themselves. It does not require visit to clinic every week.