Mölnlycke Z-Flex Fluidized Heel Boot

The Need for Heel Protection

The heel is the second most common site for facility-acquired pressure ulcers and deep tissue injuries, and the most common site for perioperative patients. Healing a heel pressure ulcer can require over a year; delays in healing are often due to underlying comorbid problems and difficulty in maintaining pressure relief for the heel.

Heel pressure ulcers can be devastating to mobility and quality of life, one study found:

• 11% of patients with ischemic heel ulcers and gangrene required amputation

• 42% of patients (18 of 43) with heel ulcers required leg amputation as a result of persistent infection or non-healing wounds