Lower Leg Ulcers
What is a leg ulcer?
A non-healing skin wound on the lower leg, foot, or toes.
What causes ulcers?
Causes of leg ulcers include trauma to the skin, poor circulation, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, atherosclerosis.
Why are skin ulcers dangerous?
Risks of skin ulcers include severe infection, gangrene, and limb loss.
Leg Ulcer Treatment at NYU
Angioplasty, stenting, and leg bypass surgery. NYU vascular experts specialize in minimally invasive treatment for leg ulcers, with the highest limb salvage success rates in New York.
NYU Leg Ulcer Experts
List of NYU vascular surgeons who treat patients with leg ulcers and prevent limb loss.
What is a leg ulcer?
Normal skin has several layers that provide protection to infection and injury. When the superficial layers of the skin break down, the resulting chronic, non-healing, open wound is called an ulcer.
A lower leg ulcer can occur anywhere on the lower legs (below the knees), feet, or at the tips of the toes.
Causes of leg ulcers (see below: "What causes ulcers?") vary greatly, from skin trauma to peripheral vascular disease to random occurrence.
If left untreated, ulcers can develop into life-threatening infections resulting in limb loss (see below: "Why are skin ulcers dangerous?").
Treatment options for skin ulcers include balloon angioplasty, stenting, and bypass surgery (see below: "Leg Ulcer Treatment at NYU").
More information about skin ulcers is available on the Society for Vascular Surgery website.
What causes ulcers?
Causes of lower leg ulcers vary to a great degree.
- Trauma to the skin
- Poor circulation due to atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque in the arteries)
- Risk factors for peripheral vascular disease, including:
- smoking
- diabetes mellitus
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
Skin ulcers may also develop without any precipitating event.
Why are skin ulcers dangerous?
Ulcers are problematic for several reasons.
Since leg ulcers represent an area of skin breakdown, the natural barrier becomes compromised, which may result in infections.
A leg ulcer may represent an underlying disorder in the circulation to the leg. If left untreated, these circulatory problems may progress to gangrene (tissue death) and result in limb loss.
Ulcers should be evaluated and treated to prevent chronic wounds, infections, and limb loss (see below: "Leg Ulcer Treatment at NYU").
Leg Ulcer Treatment at NYU
Patients who develop leg ulcers due to atherosclerosis (artery blockage) should seek immediate evaluation and possible treatment. Vascular surgeons at NYU can evaluate these ulcers, and determine if there is a problem with the blood supply to the lower leg.
Arterial blockages are usually correctable, often with minimally invasive, outpatient balloon angioplasty surgery.
Some patients may require bypass surgery. A bypass around the blockage area will increase blood flow to the ulcer and surrounding healthy skin. The healthy skin will begin to the healing process, regenerating the deficient layers of skin over the ulcer.
Healing the ulcer will restore the skin’s natural barrier to infection and help prevent limb loss.
Why choose NYU?
Vascular specialists at NYU specialize in minimally invasive treatment for leg ulcers, with a team approach that maximizes decades of experience, in-depth knowledge of the latest research and treatment techniques, and outstanding surgical outcomes including limb salvage in 70–80% of patients scheduled for amputation elsewhere (see below: "NYU Leg Ulcer Experts").
Our Leg Ulcer Specialists
NYU Langone Medical Center
550 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016
1-877-4-NYUCVI (698284)
Mark A. Adelman, M.D.
Chief of Vascular Surgery
Neal Cayne, M.D.
Director of the NYU Endovascular Surgery Program
Glenn R. Jacobowitz, M.D.
Vice Chief of the NYU Division of Vascular Surgery / Director of Vascular Surgical Services at Tisch Hospital
Lowell S. Kabnick, M.D.
Director of the NYU Vein Center
Patrick J. Lamparello, M.D.
Vice-Chair of Vascular Surgery / Director of the Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program
Thomas Maldonado, M.D.
Chief of Vascular Surgery, Bellevue Hospital
Firas F. Mussa, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Surgery at the NYU School of Medicine
Thomas S. Riles, M.D.
Associate Dean for Medical Education and Technology / Frank C. Spencer Professor of Surgery
Caron Rockman, M.D.
Director of Medical Education and the Director of Clinical Research for the NYU Division of Vascular Surgery
Frank J. Veith, M.D.
The First U.S. Surgeon to Perform an Endovascular Aneurysm Repair
