ULTRASOUND EVALUATION OF THE INFERIOR EPIGASTRIC ARTERY

Color-flow Doppler ultrasound was used to assess the anatomic characte ristics of the inferior epigastric artery (IEA) bilaterally in 20 nona therosclerotic (group I; mean age, 28 years) and 20 atherosclerotic (g roup II; mean age, 57 years) subjects. Forty-nine percent of the IEAs were located laterally within the rectus sheath with 34% in a mid and 17% in a medial location. Seventeen percent had a large branch within 5 cm of the origin. Average length of the IEA was 10.7 +/- 3.2 cm. Ave rage proximal and distal internal diameters were 3.0 +/- 0.45 and 1.9 +/- 0.35 mm, respectively. Neither length nor vessel diameter showed a ny correlation with age or body surface area. Sixty-two percent of the IEAs were greater than or equal to 9 cm in length and 1.5 mm in dista l diameter. Stenosis of the vessel (more than 50% diameter) was noted at the proximal 1 cm segment in 20% of the IEAs in the atherosclerotic group but none of the IEAs in the nonatherosclerotic group. Beyond th is proximal segment, there was freedom from atherosclerotic stenosis a s demonstrated by the IEAs' similarity of length and diameter irrespec tive of age in these atherosclerotic and nonatherosclerotic population s.