Table 1. Causal treatment of venous stasis ulcers.

Causal treatment options of chronic venous leg ulcers	Modalities of the causal treatment	level of evidedence / grade of recommendation*
Compression therapy	Phlebological compression bandages, medical compression stockings, intermittent pneumatic compression	Ia/A
Varicose surgery	Crossectomy and surgical stripping of the saphenous veins, selective varicose exeresis, mini-phlebectomy, CHIVA, perforator vein division, subfascial endoscopic perforator surgery (SEPS)	Ib/A
Endovascular therapies	Endovascular laser therapy (various laser systems), radiofrequency ablation, radiofrequency-induced thermotherapy (RFITT)	Ib/A
Sclerosing therapy	Injection sclerotherapy, ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy (direct puncture, catheter sclerosing)	Ib/A
Surgical ulcer treatment	Shaving surgery with graft coverage, ulcer excision with fasciectomy with graft coverage	III/B

^*Based on the evidence classification of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine

Evidence level:

Ia: Evidence from meta-analyses of several randomized controlled trials

Ib: Evidence based on at least one randomized controlled trial

IIa: Evidence based on at least one well-designed but not randomized and controlled trial

IIb: Evidence based on at least one well-designed quasi-experimental trial

III: Evidence based on well-designed, non-experimental descriptive trials such as comparative studies, correlation studies or case-control studies

IV: Evidence based on reports in expert panels or expert opinions or clinical experience of recognized authorities

Recommendation grade:

A: Key recommendation:there is at least one randomized controlled trial of overall good quality (evidence levels Ia and Ib)

B: Preferred recommendation: there are well-implemented clinical trials with direct reference to the recommendation (evidence levels II or III)

C: Optional recommendation: expert opinion and/or clinical