Ultrasound Procedures and Exams

Abdominal
Neck/Thyroid
Pelvic
Obstetrical
Venous
Musculosketal

Ultrasound imaging is used two ways to evaluate the veins. Most of the time it is used to look for blood clots. Blood clots in veins are a potentially serious problem because large ones can break off and go to the lungs, and cause severe breathing problems. They also may cause your legs to swell even years after the blood clots.

Another venous ultrasound study is used to evaluate poor blood flow in veins (venous stasis, or venous insufficiency), which can cause varicose veins, spider veins, and even skin ulcers in the legs.

Occasionally ultrasound is used to map veins in the leg or arm so that areas can either be removed or used as grafts for cardiac surgery or to bypass blocked arteries.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE EXAM

Wear comfortable clothes. You will need to remove all clothing and jewelry in the area to be examined. Other than that, there are no special requirements. Please do not bring young children with you as they get bored and may disrupt the exam.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING YOUR EXAM

Ultrasound imaging is painless, fast and easy. The study for blood clots is usually done with the patient lying on their back on an examining table. Venous stasis ultrasound is often done with patients sitting or standing, sometime bearing all weight on one leg and holding onto a bar with their hands to steady themselves. The sonographer will spread the gel on your skin and place the transducer firmly against your body. They will move the transducer to obtain the appropriate images. An examination for blood clots usually takes 30 minutes. An examination for venous stasis or venous insufficiency takes another 30-45 minutes.

THE ULTRASOUND MACHINE

The Ultrasound machine has a transducer, which is a small hand-held device which looks like a microphone. The sonographer will put a clear, water-soluble, lubricating gel on your skin and firmly press the transducer against the skin.

The ultrasound image is then seen on a computer screen attached to the machine. The radiologist or sonographer watches this screen during this examination. During the examination, they will "freeze" the images on the screen and save images from it, which will be evaluated by the radiologist.

Ultrasound is based on the same principles as sonar used by ships, bats or fishermen with fish detectors. As the sound waves go through the body, the waves bounce back, or "echo," back to the transducer. A very fast computer in the ultrasound machine interprets how far away the tissue is that caused the echo, its size, shape and consistency (such as fluid or solid). It then turns this information into the pictures you see on the monitor. Most of the images are of varying shades of gray. These are "2-D" images that show anatomy. Images also will be obtained with Doppler, which detects blood flow. These Doppler images can be shown on the computer either as color Doppler pictures or as duplex Doppler pictures. Duplex Doppler shows white waves, and is usually associated with listening to the waves at the same time, which often gives a rhythmic whooshing sound.

For more information on ultrasound of veins, please go to: www.radiologyinfo.org/content/ultrasound-venous.htm