DUPLICATION OF THE SUPERFICIAL FEMORAL VEIN - RECOGNITION WITH DUPLEXULTRASONOGRAPHY

Duplication of the superficial femoral vein (SFV) is a normal variant seen in 20% of contrast phlebograms. Failure to identify thrombus in o ne limb of a SFV may lead to inappropriate management and subsequent c omplications, Colour Doppler imaging (CDI) is now the imaging techniqu e of choice in the diagnosis of a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), The purp ose of this study was to identify the prevalence of duplication of the SFV at CDI and to compare this with the known prevalence at contrast phlebography. CDI was performed on 58 healthy volunteers (116 limbs ex amined), Duplication of the SFV was present in 29 examinations (25%), Ultrasonic measurement of the diameter of the SFV was performed in all patients, In the presence of duplication a significant reduction in t he diameter of both limbs of the SFV was noted when compared with an u nduplicated vessel, The prevalence of duplication of the SFV at CDI is comparable to that at contrast phlebography. Recognition of this vari ant may help reduce false negative CDI examinations.