Chronic Venous Insufficiency & Varicose Veins

What is a vascular ultrasound?

Ultrasound is a non-invasive test that helps your doctor diagnose and treat your medical problem. By using very high frequency sound waves the ultrasound machine can form images of the inside of your body. For vascular ultrasound this involves creating images of the blood vessels within your body.

Why would I need a vascular ultrasound of varicose veins?

If you suffer from aching of your lower legs during the day, particularly when you stand up for prolonged periods or if you can see enlarged veins that twist around under the skin. These visible veins can be painful or tender to the touch.

Is there any preparation I need to undertake before my vascular ultrasound?

There is no preparation necessary for your vascular ultrasound - you just need to turn up to your appointment.

What clothes do I need to remove?

For this scan we will need to be able to access the skin from groin to your toes. You will need to remove your trousers/skirt, shoes and socks but you must keep your underwear on.

What are you looking for during the vascular ultrasound of varicose veins?

We are checking the veins that return the blood from your legs back to your abdomen. There are two sets of veins in the legs that we will investigate, the first and most important are the deep veins and the second are the superficial veins. The deep veins do most of the work in returning the blood to the heart so we must check to see how well these are working. The superficial veins are the set of veins that lie close to the surface of the skin and these are usually the ones that cause the varicose veins.

What happens during the scan?

In order to perform the scan you will either be lying on a tilt table or standing in front of the sonographer. During the scan the sonographer will have to squeeze your leg, usually the calf but sometimes they will squeeze at the knee or in the thigh. By squeezing the leg the blood is forced up the veins, we will then watch to see if any of the veins are allowing blood to drain back down the leg towards your foot.

How long will the vascular ultrasound take?

A vascular ultrasound of varicose veins takes about 30 minutes to perform per leg, although this can vary depending on the extent of the varicose veins in your leg.