title: Reversal of flow in the inferior epigastric arteries: Doppler ultrasonographic findings and significance.
abstract: The objective of this work is to evaluate the significance of finding reversal of flow in the inferior epigastric artery during noninvasive assessment of the lower extremity circulation using Doppler ultrasonography. This phenomenon is easy to demonstrate when present and predicts aortic or iliac artery stenosis or occlusion at subsequent arteriography. We found collateralization to the leg from the ipsilateral internal mammary artery via the epigastric arteries in all cases in which ultrasonography showed such reversal and these vessels carried the majority of the blood supply to the leg. This finding and its significance should be conveyed to patients and their physicians so that deliberate harvesting or inadvertent surgical damage to the epigastric arteries can be avoided, as this has been shown to lead to worsening of leg ischemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Alleghany Regional Hospital, Low Moor, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Sistrom
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Reiheld
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Elliot
mesh_terms: D000009:Abdominal Muscles / Q000098:blood supply*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D003097:Collateral Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007383:Intermittent Claudication / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008323:Mammary Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler