Ulcers

The vast majority of leg ulcers are venous, arterial or nerve-related (neuropathic). About 1% are due to other causes. The most common is skin cancer. This can be diagnosed with a biopsy under local anaesthetic and then treated by the plastic surgery team at LUCI. On rare occasions, a patient with a leg ulcer for many years due to veins problems may develop a type of cancer in the ulcer. Occasionally, patients may develop leg ulcers due to inflammation in the tiny blood vessels of the skin and underlying tissue (vasculitis).