Can a person lose his leg if he has a venous ulcer and it gets infected?

Unlikely: It is very unlikely to lose a leg from a venous ulcer. They are very painful and cause significant discoloration of the ankles. You are far more likely to require an amputation from an arterial ulcer. The best way to treat an infected venous ulcer is with antibiotics and compression dressings.

Not likely: Assuming that there is no arterial component to the ulcer it is not likely to lose the leg. The best treatment for this sort of ulcer is very aggressive and focused care regarding the cause of the ulcer. This is lifelong problem and will require long term management.

Unlikely: It is very unlikely to lose a leg from a venous ulcer. They are very painful and cause significant discoloration of the ankles. You are far more likely to require an amputation from an arterial ulcer. The best way to treat an infected venous ulcer is with antibiotics and compression dressings.

Not al all likely: I agree with drs. Aalami and salartash, the chances of losing a leg in this case are fortuantely slim. Venous ulcers actually get infected very rarely and if one does get infected, it can usually be treated easily with antibiotics. With antibiotics and treatment of the underlyilng vein disease, the ulcer should be able to be treated pretty uneventfully.

Only ifnot cared for: If venous ulcers also have a significant arterial component remember the prime treatment for a venous ulcer is compression this has been known for thousands of years. Hippocrates writes of treating his own leg ulcers with compression (fascinating) and this appears on the smith papyrus about 1600bc. Venous ulcers are often inflamed but not infected and have copious drainage without infection.

Should Rarely happe: The treatment of venous ulcers is graded multilayer compression. Old-fashioned remedies like unna's boots, are not useful based on current scientific literature. Unfortunately, health care professionals who are not aware of the current treatments used amputation as the definitive cure all. With appropriate diagnostic and treatment, imputation should rarely, rarely happen with venous disease.

Yes: However, in the right wound care clinic you shld not lose your leg if a venous ulcer becomes infected. With the correct antibiotics, wound care, vascular w/u, compression therapy the ulcer shld heal and the leg shld heal. I have not seen a leg amputated in my clinic unless the pt initially presents with a wound requiring an amputation.

Yes: Should be meticulously treated.

Possibly: This could happen in extreme cases but should not in the modern era with antibiotics and correct treatment of the underlying venous disease.

Venous ulcer: if the arterial circulation is ok and the patient does not have diabetes it is unlikely that limb will be lost having said that prompt attention to the venous ulcer is crucial ,determining cause and protocol for management

1st treat infection.: Venous ulcers are the end result of long standing chronic venous insufficiency, venous stasis and venous hypertension. An infected ulcer is treated by appropriate antibiotics, wound cleaning (debriding) and topical wound care followed by then treating the source of the ulcer. If the infected ulcer is left untreated and continues to worsen there is always the possibility of limb loss.