[Shave therapy for surgical treatment of persistent venous ulcer with large superficial dermatoliposclerosis].

Ulcers in chronic venous insufficiency, especially in postthrombotic syndrome, are often resistant to compression therapy. They can be treated effectively by the dermatologic surgeon with a fairly simple operative procedure. The removal of the ulcer together with the extensive lipodermatosclerosis by Humby knife (shave-therapy) and immediate grafting with a meshed split skin graft-possibly in combination with ligation of insufficient perforator veins-yields very good success rates. The results in 13 patients (18 legs) with an average follow up period of 11 months (up to 20 months) are reported.