Dr. Hardeep Ahluwalia is a respected presence in the San Francisco Bay area who guides several California Vein & Vascular Center locations. One of Dr. Hardeep Ahluwalia’s areas of extensive knowledge is venous ulcers, which afflict nearly two million Americans and represent the most common type of chronic issue requiring wound care center treatment.

Often having obesity as a cofactor, venous ulcers occur when venous valves that enable proper blood flow malfunction, which results in pressure within the veins increasing. Usually occurring in the lower leg, this increased pressure causes hypertension and results in blood pooling, as blood is not pumped back to the heart efficiently.

What is also known as venous insufficiency also causes the vein walls to stretch, with proteins found in the blood cells and blood leaching into surrounding subcutaneous tissues. The ultimate result is edema, with fibrin protein deposits, useful for blood clotting, preventing nutrients and oxygen from reaching surrounding tissue and muscle. This in turn can cause ulceration and necrosis, which can then lead to infection.

There are many pathways for treating and preventing venous ulcers, including closing off the problem vein, thereby redirecting blood flow through healthier veins.