Ultrasound of lower limb veins

Diseases and pathologies of the legs are increasingly diagnosed in patients of all ages. That is why the question of where to do an ultrasound of the lower extremities, how the procedure is carried out and the main indications for its implementation becomes relevant, we will consider these issues. Ultrasound examination of the lower extremities allows you to see everything that is hidden from visual inspection. With the help of this diagnostic method, the state of the venous system and blood vessels, vascular patency and blood flow velocity, the presence of blood clots and other pathologies are determined.

Today, several types of ultrasound examination of the lower extremities are used: color Doppler scanning, duplex sonography and angioscanning, let's consider them in more detail:

• During angioscanning, ultrasound is reflected from tissues and displayed on the ultrasound monitor as an image. This type of lower limb diagnostics helps to identify pathological changes in tissue structure, bends, compactions and blood clots.
• Doppler scanning helps visualize blood flow in the vessels of the extremities. Ultrasound provides information on the speed and direction of blood flow, the state of venous valves and vascular patency. Helps detect deep vein thrombosis.
• Duplex sonography includes the two types of ultrasound examination of the lower extremities described above. This diagnostic method can be used to detect any disorders in the venous system.

Ultrasound scanning of the lower extremities is prescribed for suspected venous diseases, to confirm varicose veins of the deep veins, for prevention and control over the recovery process. Ultrasound is recommended for patients with diabetes, chronic venous insufficiency, frequent cramps, swelling and nagging pain in the extremities. Ultrasound diagnostics is also performed on patients who are at risk. That is, people who are overweight, lead an inactive and sedentary lifestyle, pregnant women and those who prefer to wear high-heeled shoes.

Diagnostics does not require special preparation, the patient does not need to limit himself in food or undergo additional procedures. The duration of the study takes from 40 to 60 minutes. During the diagnostics, the patient lies on the couch on his stomach, freeing the calves and thighs from clothing. The tissues to be examined are lubricated with a special gel and examined using a sensor. Ultrasound is painless and safe.

Ultrasound signs of leg vein damage

Ultrasound examination (US) of the lower extremity vessels is one of the leading ones in clinical practice. Traditional physical or instrumental diagnostics in the specified vascular region is either uninformative (manual tests, measuring the volume of the limb, etc.), or is associated with endovasal invasion and radiation exposure to the patient and medical personnel (X-ray contrast angiography). However, the problem of ultrasound diagnostics of venous system diseases remains poorly studied to date.

The inferior vena cava system is the major source of fatal pulmonary embolism.

However, the problem of using ultrasound technologies, ultrasound semiotics of acute venous thrombosis of the vessels of the inferior vena cava system, chronic venous insufficiency of the lower extremities has not been sufficiently studied and requires comparison with data from reference research methods.

Different venous basins of the upper and lower extremities are characterized by different pathophysiological mechanisms and are discussed in different sections. The examination technique should correspond to the anatomy of the vessels.

The main interest among the deep vein diseases of the lower extremities is deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The main risk factors are post-traumatic or post-operative immobilization, long-distance flights or bus trips, paraneoplastic syndromes and hypercoagulopathy. The clinical symptoms of deep vein thrombosis are non-specific, while radiological diagnostics allows to determine in doubtful cases, especially if you pay attention to the algorithm.

Most diseases of the superficial venous system of the lower extremities occur due to valvular venous insufficiency. Primary varicose veins are a disease of the superficial veins, in which the venous valves cannot close for reasons that are not yet fully understood. Secondary varicose veins are caused by an increase in the blood volume in the superficial veins, which function as collaterals in deep vein thrombosis (post-thrombotic syndrome). Primary and secondary varicose veins can lead to the clinical picture of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).

Superficial vein thrombosis (thrombophlebitis) is usually a clinical diagnosis and rarely requires imaging.

Upper extremity venous thrombosis (Paget-von Schroetter syndrome) is rare. It is usually a complication associated with catheterization or is the result of physical overload (stress thrombosis). Clinical manifestations are usually pronounced (swelling of the arm), and the main purpose of the study is to substantiate the clinical picture.