Duplex means two. Two (2) things.  With the color flow duplex, biomedical engineers have combined the image (B-mode, B for brightness), with use of the doppler beam to give information about blood flow within the vessel. Johann Christian Doppler a Swiss discovered the principle which bears his name.  If you stand by a train track and listen to the whistle of an approaching train, you will find that the pitch (frequency) of the sound rises as the train gets closer to you.  As the train passes by and receeds into the distance the pitch of the whistle will decrease.  This frequency shift associated with the direction of motion is the doppler principle. Using this principle we can determine not only the direction that blood is flowing, but also the speed as well. Color is now used to display the frequency on the image.  In the old days we used to use a frequency analyzer to give us a picture of the frequency(ies).  And before that, we just used to listen with our ears.

Before The Age of Venous Duplex

Before the advent of the duplex machine, all we had to diagnose venous disease with was the patient's history, the physical examination, use of certain limited maneuvers performed during the exam, and an x-ray venogram if we really wanted to get more information.  That would involve needle puncture and administration of iodinated radiologic contrast agents which have the risk of allergic reaction, renal failure, exposure to X radiation.

Venous Duplex Examination

Now we can use the duplex ultrasound machine to examine the deep veins, the superficial veins, and the perforating veins of your leg.  We can look for clot in the deep or superficial veins.  We can look for reflux in the deep and superficial veins and in the perforating veins as well.

Before the routine use of the venous duplex, most surgeons performed the same operation for all patients whether they needed it or not, because there was no good way to determine who needed what.  Now we can tailor the laser and/or surgical procedure to the patients exact pathology.  In many cases this means doing less surgery than might have been done before.  The less surgery, the less discomfort.  The less discomfort, the quicker you get back to normal activities including work.

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    Venous Reflux Testing.  

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