[The role of support in the prevention of venous thromboses of the lower limbs].

Support and exercise has long been accepted as a mechanical method of preventing venous stasis. In recent years the role of the venous endothelium in the pathogenesis of thrombosis has been emphasised. The trouble occurs at the level of the microcirculation.

[Familial deficiency of antithrombin III].

The systematic search for a deficiency in antithrombin III must be considered in case of: venous thrombosis in a young patient, recurrent venous thrombosis especially if these occurred under Heparin, venous mesenteric infarction since this type of thrombosis is rare and seems relatively frequent in case of congenital deficiency in antithrombin III, familial past history of venous thrombosis in a woman desiring to undergo estrogen-progesterone therapy. The most often used techniques are: study of antithrombin III activity by amidolytic method and titration by immunodiffusion. Anti-vitamin K treatment is the only effective therapy proposed to patients suffering from a hereditary deficiency in antithrombin III.

[Value of Doppler studies and venous-occlusion rheoplethysmography in postphlebitic disease].

It is often difficult to confirm the diagnosis of post-phlebitic venous thrombosis. Doppler ultrasonography and plethysmography by venous occlusion can be performed in the consulting rooms to support the clinical diagnosis. These are comparative examinations which can be used to monitor the course of the disease.

[Post-traumatic ulcers in the elderly subject].

The occurrence of ulceration after minor traumatism in the older patient free from arterial disorders, can be explained by the decreased elasticity of the subcutaneous tissues, which thus provokes arterial rupture, which in turn brings on major bruising and the appearance of an area of necrosis whose surface is proportionately large or smaller according to the damage done to the arterioles. The treatment is straight forward, and usually leads to quick healing without scarring.