抄録
A new mode of sonography termed B-flow has been developed to provide direct visualization of blood streams. The present study was done to evaluate flow abnormality in patients with cervical carotid artery stenosis after carotid endarterectomy using B-flow sonography. Eight consecutive patients with cervical carotid artery stenosis underwent carotid artery B-flow sonography after the treatment using a LOGIQ 700 unit (General Electric, Yokogawa Medical Systems; Tokyo, Japan) equipped with a wide-bandwidth (5-10 MHz) linear-array transducer. We were able to detect the blood flow and plaque morphology in all cases simultaneously. Using B-flow, all flow patterns were visualized clearly without blooming, as is often the case in color flow imaging and power Doppler imaging. The intima-media complex was visualized clearly 4 weeks after the carotid endarterectomy in all cases. Turbulent flow which was not evident in the DSA was visualized at the proximal edge postoperatively in 5 cases. This was significantly decreased 12 weeks later, and the flow patterns were normalized. Reverse flow and stasis of the blood stream at the carotid bulb were observed in one case, where a thrombus was detected at the endarterectomized site. Detection and evaluation of postoperative blood flow patterns are important for evaluating thrombus formation and intimal hyperplasia after carotid endarterectomy.
