Background. Chronic venous disorders affect about half of the Polish adult population. This pathology usually results in long-term work incapacity and is often the cause of total permanent disability (TPD). Therefore, a proper and easily available method of diagnosing venous insufficiency, and thus adequate evaluation for surgical treatment, is of particular importance since this type of pathology is becoming more frequent among non-communicable diseases (NCD). The goal of this dissertation is to demonstrate Doppler ultrasonography as a referential test method eligible for the treatment of varicose veins.
Material and methods. The study included the patients, who came to specialist medical private practice because of painful sensation and oedema of the lower limbs, and patients who were qualified for surgical intervention in the Department of General and Oncological Surgery of the Public Hospital of Bolesławiec.
Results. In the period from July 2008 to April 2010 the study covered 663 patients (491 women and 172 men, i.e. women 74% and men 26%) aged from 15 years to 82 years (mean age 51 years). The most common pathology diagnosed among women was failure of the two estuaries and the trunks of GSV (great saphenous vein) (125 women, i.e. 25% of women). In men, the largest group were patients with leg perforator insufficiency (28% of men). In 126 patients (19%) no venous disorders were found. A total of 227 patients (199 women and 78 men) were qualified to surgical intervention in the Department of General and Oncological Surgery. The youngest patient was 16 years old (male) and the oldest was 81 years old (female) — the mean age was 52 years. Saphenectomy was performed in 166 women and 70 men, which accounted for 85% of the total number of performed procedures. The mean duration of the hospitalization was 2 days (the shortest was one day, the longest was 3 days).
Conclusions. Doppler ultrasonography with colour blood flow imaging (duplex scan) allows accurate diagnosis of the pathology of the venous system. The obtained results confirm epidemiological data for European countries. Nowadays, with the increasing tendency of shortening the time of hospitalization using this diagnostic method, which is non-invasive, relatively low cost, and high accuracy, should be the method of choice in the diagnosis and evaluation for the surgical treatment of varicose veins of the lower extremities. The accurate qualification and precise plan of the surgical procedure made by the ultrasonography examination allow varicose vein surgery to be performed as a “the same day surgery”, which is very important due to the high incidence of venous diseases in the population (33% of women, 20% of men).
Acta Angiol 2011; 17, 2: 173–178