Sonar

Vascular ultrasound imaging (Sonar) refers to the examination of the body’s arteries and veins. It is considered gold standard in diagnosing and guiding venous disease treatment.

This scan examines deep and superficial veins in the legs looking to.

• Assess patency of the deep venous system
• Assess varicosities and venous reflux (incompetency)

What happens during the peripheral venous scan?

Our sonographer will place a transducer/camera on the leg starting at the groin (junction of the leg and hip) and the sonographer will scan the leg down to the mid-calf on each side to firstly make sure there are no blood clots and that the deep veins are patent.

 You will then be required to stand so the Sonographer can look at the superficial veins to check for reflux.

What can a Peripheral venous ultrasound see?

The peripheral venous ultrasound can identify if there are any deep or superficial clots and assess the quality of the blood flow at the long and short saphenous veins to insure the valves are competent preventing reflux.

The sonographer will also have to push down on the leg or squeeze in various locations to assess the compressibility of the veins or the competency of the valves.

 Note: Be prepared to spend at least 30 to 60 minutes at the clinic for this test. It depends on whether one or both extremities are being assessed.

What is next?

Based on the sonar findings the surgeon will discuss the various treatments available and recommend the suitable treatment option.

Ultrasound guided intervention

Again sonar is an essential tool to guide endovenous therapy. Dependant on size of varicose vein and site of incompetent valves we choose from the techniques of ablation. Radiofrequency ablation is used for large peripheral vein and fibrovein sclerosant for medium to small varicosities.

Sonar also help to determine the positioning of the catheter inside the vein as well as guiding the administration of the ablation therapy.