Endoluminal Repair Surveillance

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 my endoluminal repair?

If you have had undergone a repair of the aorta, your Doctor may ask you to undertake regular vascular ultrasounds to have it checked for surveillance. Alternatively if your doctor suspects that there may be any complications with the aortic repair it will need it to be investigated with ultrasound.

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 a vascular ultrasound of an endoluminal repair you will need to lift your shirt and lower your trousers/skirt and underwear so that we can get easy access to your abdomen between your ribs and your hips.

What are you looking for during the vascular ultrasound of an endoluminal repair?

The aorta is the main artery that takes the blood from the heart to the lower half of your body. After the aorta has been repaired there is a small risk that the graft material which was used to do the repair, could become detached from the artery wall or degrade. We will check to see that the aorta has not changed in size and that we cannot detect any leaks from the graft.

What happens during the scan?

We will ask you to lie flat on the bed. Because the abdominal aorta can be deep, it may be necessary for the sonographer to press quite firmly on your abdomen.

How long will the vascular ultrasound take?

A vascular ultrasound of an endoluminal repair takes about 45 minutes to perform.