Patients with lower limb ulceration are common in clinical practice, as between 0.6% and 3.6% of adults will develop a leg ulcer in their lifetime (Graham et al, 2003; Posnett and Franks, 2007). This equates to between 70,000 and 190,000 people in the United Kingdom having an active leg ulcer in any one day (Posnett and Franks, 2007).

The most common cause of lower limb ulceration is attributed to venous hypertension, and venous ulceration is reported to affect up to 1% of all adults (Christian, 2013). The management of venous ulceration is costly in terms of treatment costs, nursing time and patient suffering (Atkin, 2015).

This piece was sponsored by an educational grant from Activa Healthcare.