[Role of echo-colour Doppler in the diagnostic work-up and surgical timing of chronic venous insufficiency].

Chronic venous insufficiency affects about 10-12% to 35-50% of the population in industrialised countries. We analyse the role of echo-colour Doppler in the diagnostic-therapeutic work-up for this pathology in the light of their own experience. We report the results of the study of 158 legs in 79 patients, classifying the severity of chronic venous insufficiency using the Widmer classification, and private circulations using the Franceschi shunt classification. The mean duration of the examination was about 30 minutes (range: 22-46). A reflux time > 0.5 sec. was considered pathological. The patients with chronic venous insufficiency were divided into three groups on the basis of type of treatment: medical treatment and elastic compression (group 1,12 patients), sclerotherapy and elastic compression (group II, 20 patients), surgical treatment and sclerotherapy (group III, 36 patients). The echo-colour Doppler results were confirmed in the operating theatre in 34 patients. Echo-colour Doppler enabled us to identify patients who needed less invasive treatment than stripping; in group III, echo-colour Doppler allowed precise mapping and identification of communicant veins and collaterals, with 95% accuracy.