BLOOD FLUX AND VENOARTERIOLAR RESPONSE OF THE SKIN IN LEGS WITH CHRONIC VENOUS INSUFFICIENCY MEASURED AT 2 DIFFERENT DEPTHS BY USING A DOUBLE-WAVELENGTH LASER-DOPPLER TECHNIQUE

The laser Doppler flux (LDF) and the venoarteriolar response (VAR) of the skin in legs with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) was measured by using a new double-wavelength probe technique (543 nm and 780 nm). The recordings were taken in a recumbent and in a sitting position. Te n patients with CVI and 20 control subjects with healthy legs were inv estigated. The LDF was found to bl significantly enhanced in a recumbe nt position at 543 nm and in a sitting position at 780 nm in legs with CVI compared with healthy legs (P<0.05 and P=0.02, respectively). The authors could not find the VAR to be impaired in either wavelength in legs with CVI compared with healthy legs. The double-wavelength probe technique makes it possible to record simultaneously the LDF in the s uperficial and deep layers of the skin on the same place in the leg.