Dr. Guillermo Ferrer and Dr. Viola Monaghan of the Vein & Laser Centers of Central New York were invited to present to on the topic of Venous Disease at the monthly meeting of the Tompkins County Medical Society in Ithaca, N.Y.on April 9, 2008. The discussion drew a myriad of questions from the audience of approximately thirty physicians many of whom were Family Practitioners. Many of the doctor’s questions were about venous ulcers. Venous ulcers are a result of insufficient blood flow usually due to faulty values in the veins of the legs. The first sign of this problem may be a bulging vein or discoloration of the skin usually around the inner ankle area. Patients often visit their Family Practitioners with the onset of leg ulcers. Once an ulcer forms it is very difficult to heal. Often patients are referred to a wound clinic where many methods of wound care is used to treat the ulcer. Some venous patients have had these none healing leg ulcers for months and sometimes even years without normal healing. Unfortunately, unless the cause of the ultimate cause of the venous ulcer is addressed it will either not heal or it will return after initially healing. At the Vein and Laser Centers of Central New York, Drs. Ferrer and Monaghan are using a new innovative method to speed the healing of venous ulcers. This method is called Apligraf. It is a unique living cell therapy. Click here for more information on Apligraf. Once the venous ulcer is healed then the patient can have the underlying cause, the incompetent varicose vein, treated using an EVLT or VNUS procedure. Both of these procedures are done at the Vein and Laser Centers of Central
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