Venous leg ulcers can lead to debilitation and a decrease in quality of life and can require costly treatments. Compression therapy remains the foundation of conservative treatment. However, some ulcers become indolent, chronic, and unresolved for years, even with adherence to standard of care. Here, the authors describe the case of a 56-year-old male patient with a recalcitrant recurrent distal leg ulcer. The ulcer was treated initially with debridement and compression therapy, respectively, and then subsequently with hyaluronic acid sodium salt 0.2% gel, which prompted complete wound closure. Hyaluronic acid is known to stimulate angiogenesis and exert fibrogenic action within inflamed and impaired healing tissues. Only a limited number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the clinical use of hyaluronic acid for treating venous leg ulcers. Success obtained with this patient should spur future clinical studies to fully evaluate this modality as a safe, efficacious, expeditious, and cost-effective option for the management of recalcitrant chronic ulcers.
Keywords: Venous leg ulcer; gel; hyaluronic acid; topical; wound healing.