What is Stasis Dermatitis?
Stasis Dermatitis is a type of dermatitis related to chronic venous reflux disease and inflamed varicose veins. It can be a blistering, weeping or scaling skin eruption and occurs in the thighs, legs and ankles. Stasis dermatitis is also called gravitational eczema and venous eczema.
Gravitational eczema is what the name implies, eczema in the lowest parts of the leg where there is most likely to have pooling of blood in veins, i.e. venous reflux with elevated venous pressures due to this venous load (venous hypertension).
Stasis dermatitis is most comon in the gaiter areas of the legs. Once the inflamed cords of veins are treated, venous eczema will go away. Sometimes topical steroid cremes like triamcinolone is used to treat stasis dermatitis.
In the CEAP classification of venous disease, venous stasis dermatitis is classified as CEAP C4a disease.
Once patients are assessed by Dr. Karamanoukian and a venous Duplex scan is performed which utilizes a combination of ultrasound (B mode scanning) and Doppler scanning - together called Duplex scanning of the venous system, the legs are mapped with both Vein Lite and Vein Viewer Infrared technology. The CEAP classification is next used to document the type of venous disease and clinical severity scores are next utilized in addition to the morphological and pathological classification of venous diseases.