Advanced Foot And Ankle Center Of San Diego

Foot Ulcers & Wounds Of The Feet

Ulcers are wounds or open sores that will not heal or keep returning. Ulcers may or may not be painful. The patient generally has a swollen leg and may feel burning or itching. There may also be a rash, redness, brown discoloration or dry, scaly skin.

he three most common types of leg and foot ulcers include:

• Venous stasis ulcers
• Arterial (ischemic ulcers)
• Neurotrophic (diabetic)

Ulcers are typically defined by the appearance of the ulcer, the ulcer location, and the way the borders and surrounding skin of the ulcer look.

 A foot ulcer can be a shallow red crater that involves only the surface skin. A foot ulcer also can be very deep. A deep foot ulcer may be a crater that extends through the full thickness of the skin, and may involve tendons, bones and other deep structures.

People with diabetes and people with poor circulation are more likely to develop foot ulcers. It can be difficult to heal a foot ulcer. In people with these conditions, even a small foot ulcer can become infected if it does not heal quickly.

If an infection occurs in an ulcer and is not treated right away, it can develop into an abscess (a pocket of pus), a spreading infection of the skin and underlying fat (cellulitis), a bone infection (osteomyelitis) or gangrene. Gangrene is an area of dead, darkened body tissue caused by poor blood flow. Among people with diabetes, a foot ulcer is the beginning stage of approximately 85% of severe foot infections that ultimately require some part of the toe, foot or lower leg to be amputated.

There are thousands of products available to treat ulcers. Ulcers need to be approaches from many angles. Here at the Advanced Foot And Ankle Center we have many years of experience treating foot and ankle ulcers. We have acess to the latest modalities including hyperbaric oxygen and negative pressure therapy if you have a question about your ulcer feel free to send a picture and ask questions to the doctor by clicking here.

                       Advanced Foot and Ankle Center Of San Diego Toll free 888-451-3770
                                      Serving communities of San Diego including
                           La Jolla, Del Mar, Poway, Santee, Rancho Bernardo, La Mesa
                      El Cajon, National City, Coranado, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe,
                    Ramona, Escondido ,San Marcos, Vista, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas