Evaluation of Lower Limb Varicose Vein by Ultrasonic Venous Duplex Examination

BackgroundTo evaluate the effectiveness of ultrasonic venous duplex examination (UVDE) for lower limb varicose vein.Materials and methodsSixty-five patients with varicose vein of the lower limb during a 2-year period were enrolled in this study. There were 21 men and 44 women with an age range from 20 to 80 years and a mean age of 60 years. All patients received UVDE to determine the causes of varicose vein, including valvular incompetence, incompetent perforating vein, deep vein thrombosis, and congenital abnormality.ResultsIn these 65 patients with 80 abnormal lower limbs, valvular incompetence was observed in 40 lower limbs (50%), valvular incompetence combined with incompetent perforating vein was observed in 22 lower limbs (27.5%), incompetent perforating vein only was observed in 13 lower limbs (16.3%), deep vein thrombosis in four lower limbs (5%), and congenital abnormality in one lower limb (1.2%).ConclusionUltrasonic venous duplex examination (UVDE) is a safe and effective technique for evaluating lower limb varicose veins before planning the treatment course.