ABSTRACT
Leg compression has been used to treat varicose veins and leg ulcers since ancient times,
probably before Hippocrates’ era. Leg wrapping with bandages was used by Hippocrates,
Celsus, Ambrose Pare´, and others, but it was Wiseman in 1676 who introduced a laced
stocking made of a number of different materials but primarily of soft leather (1). The
dermatologist Unna in 1893 used zinc and lanolin impregnated bandages to treat leg
ulcers, offering compression with antimicrobial properties. Elastic compression in the
form of bandages or stockings was developed during the nineteenth century. Elastic
stockings initially exerted uniform compression, but in the 1940s Jobst introduced graded
elastic stockings, which are widely used nowadays (1).
