2002 Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 49-54
【Purpose】The importance of descending phlebography (DP)was assessed in the lower limbs with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).
【Patients and Methods】The venous reflux was evaluated in 35 lower limbs of 22 patients with CVI by using both air plethysmography (APG) and DP. APG was performed in 97 normal limbs for control. In the CVI limbs, venous filling index (VFI) with and without a 10-cm air tournique (t inflated at the pressure of 60 mmHg) was used as a parameter quantitatively to assess the degree of venous reflux. The morphological information of the venous reflux was assessed by DP.
【Results】In the normal limbs, the VFI was less than 1.8ml/sec. In the CVI limbs, the VFI with and without an air tourniquet were 4.5±3.6 ml/sec and 6.7±4.1 ml/sec, respectively. The VFI was normalized in the 11 of 35 limbs with an air tourniquet. No reflux to the deep venous system was observed in these limbs by DP. Twenty-four of 35 limbs were not normalized after inflating the air tourniquet. Nine of 24 limbs had a venous reflux to the deep calf vein.
【Conclusion】DP was able to evaluate the morphological changes in CVI. Accordingly, DP was useful for CVI evaluation.
