Venous Ultrasound Diagnostic Testing

Venous duplex ultrasound has become the clear diagnostic study of choice for evaluating and diagnosing chronic venous disease, and specifically chronic venous insufficiency, which leads to venous reflux and venous hypertension.  Venous hypertension is the root cause of nearly all superficial venous disorders.

Venous hypertension is produced by venous reflux, which is backward flow of blood in the veins, the result of failed valves in the veins.  Venous reflux is easily identified with venous ultrasound, a painless, non-invasive test.  This test allows the vein physician to pinpoint the cause of varicose veins, venous stasis dermatitis, venous swelling, and venous ulceration.  Once the exact cause of these vein disorders is identified, a customized treatment plan can be designed to target only the diseased veins, preserving the healthy veins.  This is in contrast to the outmoded vein stripping procedures of the past.

Venous Ultrasound Dallas TX | Fort Worth TX

Ultrasound imaging used to position the tip of the RF catheter in the saphenous vein for radiofrequency ablation.

In addition, venous ultrasound is an important tool in vein treatment.  Most of the minimally invasive treatments for chronic venous insufficiency, for example endovenous radiofrequency ablation and sclerotherapy, are done using ultrasound guidance to pinpoint the veins beneath the skin that require treatment, and to monitor the progress of vein treatment at the time of the procedure, and at subsequent follow-up visits.  In fact, the development of high definition computer enhanced images coupled with constantly improving ultrasound technology has markedly increased the value of ultrasound examination in many areas of medicine.