title: Venous physiology in the different patterns of recurrent varicose veins and the relationship to clinical severity.
abstract: Venous function measured by air-plethysmography (APG) was compared to anatomical patterns of reflux assessed by duplex scanning and associated clinical features in 253 limbs with recurrent varicose veins following previous superficial venous surgery. The results showed that a previous history of deep venous thrombosis, previous procedure with preservation of the long saphenous vein, and a history of healed ulcer or current ulcer were each associated with worse venous function. Patterns of reflux which included multiple sites of reflux and presence of deep incompetence were also associated with worse venous function. Where there was reflux in the groin, limbs with a wide recurrent saphenofemoral junction presented the worst venous filling time and venous filling index, whereas those with reflux unrelated to the common femoral vein had nearly normal venous physiology and occurred almost exclusively in females. The other patterns of recurrence in the groin were physiologically indistinguishable from each other. In conclusion, certain patterns of reflux, clinical and operative features are associated with worse venous physiology in limbs with recurrent varicose veins. These features of recurrence with more severe physiological disturbance may necessitate a higher priority for surgical intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: van Rij
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Christie
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Thomson
mesh_terms: D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D005260:Female; D005268:Femoral Vein / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010991:Plethysmography; D012008:Recurrence; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018616:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex; D014648:Varicose Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures