Human amnion in the treatment of chronic ulceration of the legs.

A prospective study to evaluate the efficacy of human amniotic membrane dressings in the treatment of chronic leg ulcers was conducted on 15 patients. Patients with two ulcers were selected. One ulcer was treated with human amnion and the other, treated with standard dressings, served as a control. The rate of healing of the two ulcers was observed and compared. Chronic ulcers of post-phlebitic, post-irradiation and post-burn origin responded to treatment with human amnion and healed more rapidly than the control ulcer. Ulcers associated with rheumatoid arthritis and vasculitis showed no improvement. It was observed that all ulcers treated with human amnion quickly became pain-free.