title: Initial experience comparing B-mode imaging and venography of the saphenous vein before in situ bypass.
abstract: Preoperative saphenous vein assessment was performed using both venography and B-mode scanning. Fifty patients underwent preoperative assessment, and the results were compared with the intraoperative findings. Both venography and B-mode imaging were equally accurate at determining the dominant saphenous system, but B-mode imaging missed five thigh double systems that were shown on venography. Neither venography nor B-mode imaging were good predictors of actual vein size at most sites in the leg, with the exception of B-mode assessment below the knee, where there was a positive correlation with intraoperative vein size (r = 0.80; p less than 0.01). In our study, B-mode scanning was consistently more reliable in determining vein presence and continuity than venography, which gave nine false-negative results. Finally, B-mode imaging allows the marking of a saphenous vein map on the patient's leg preoperatively as a guide to bypass surgery.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D007511:Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply; D008297:Male; D010690:Phlebography; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014463:Ultrasonography