[Compression in vascular pathology. Practical applications]

A better use of the methods of compression in vascular disease would be based on a progression of the available techniques: fixed compression, elastic bandages, elastic stockings, so that one can pass from one degree to another, but only in the direction indicated, except in the case of regression of the disease, when treatment of the previous stage would be required. One should never replace elastic stockings by elastic bandages except in the case of regression, nor the bandage by the boot, except when the bandage fails. On the other hand, a favourable clinical evolution means that the boot can be replaced by the bandage, the bandage by the stocking, or directly from the boot to the stocking. The optimal choice of the method of compression is made from this progressive range on the basis of the evaluation of the severity of the vascular disorders.