Deep venous thrombosis of the extremity diagnosed by color Doppler ultrasonography after isolated limb perfusion

Aim: Isolated limb perfusion (ILP) is used to treat locally advanced sarcom a and melanoma of the extremities. ILP is associated with a 1.7% to 10% inc idence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), The aim of the study was to examine the effect of ILP on the peripheral venous system and to evaluate the diag nostic accuracy of color Doppler ultrasonography (US). Methods: A total of 26 patients with locally advanced sarcoma or melanoma o f the extremities received a total of 38 ILP. The patients were evaluated p reoperatively and postoperatively by color Doppler US as a noninvasive Veno us measurement. we used a color Doppler US system (SSA-270A, Toshiba) with a 7.5-MHz linear transducer for gray-scale imaging and a 5-MHz vascular tra nsducer for color Doppler imaging. Results: Seventeen patients underwent single ILP while the others were trea ted with multiple lips, Color Doppler US showed a reflux flow in three (7.9 %) patients and DVT occurred subsequently in these patients. Conclusions: Color Doppler US is a noninvasive and clinically useful diagno stic technique in the diagnosis of extremity DVT. We recommend anticoagulan t therapy in patients with reflux on ultrasonographic examination.