All stories from this date's edition of the web site are listed in the column to the right of this text. To browse other previous editions, click HERE . Dr. Frank Bures Leg ulcers from varicose vein disease are common, complicated in their origins, and often complex and difficult to treat. Varix is Latin for dilated vein.
Varicose vein is really redundant terminology, but so is malignant melanoma.
Estimates of how many people in the United State have varicose veins range from 25 to 50 percent. Frequency increases with use of the veins over time and the piling on of decades of gravitational pressure to genetically susceptible veins. Estimates of people with ulcers from VV range from 0.5-2 million, or from 2 to 5 percent of the population. Estimates are 2 million work days lost and 1.5 million skin grafts or amputations occur annually because of leg ulcers. The common ulcer is, for reasons not clear, just above the ankle bone on the inside of a leg.