ABSTRACT
I FIRST BECAME aware that leg ulcers were a significant problem when I began working as a district nurse nine years ago. Within a very short time I realised just how much of my day was spent dressing leg ulcers, and how difficult it was to heal these wounds permanently, if at all. My interest in leg ulcers initially originated from a desire to increase the effectiveness of my
wound management practices, partly because of the sympathy I felt for these patients, but also to reduce the demands they made on nursing time and resources.
