Kentville, NS Summerside, PEI
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Home Veins Duplex ultrasound vein assessment

Duplex ultrasound vein assessmentRead with you the same day.

A painless scan maps the veins in your legs and shows how blood is actually moving through them, and your surgeon reviews it with you in the same visit.

Book a consultation Call 902-678-2121
Performed by a vascular surgeonRoyal College certified, seven years of specialist training Ultrasound and consult in one visitYour scan is read with you the same day Treating veins since 2007Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

Who it is for

Is this right for me?

The short answer is that the ultrasound decides. Here is how we think about it.

This is the first step for anyone with vein symptoms, and it is the step that decides everything after it. It is also worth doing when your legs look fine but feel wrong.

What a leg looks like on the surface is a poor guide to what is happening underneath. Varicose veins that look dramatic can be straightforward, and quiet-looking legs can hide a significant problem. The scan is what tells us which you have.

Plenty of people leave with nothing that needs treating, and that is a good outcome. Knowing your legs are fine is worth the visit on its own.

Symptoms we treat

  • Aching legs
  • Heaviness
  • Swelling
  • Night cramps
  • Visible bulging veins
  • Skin changes or discolouration

Any of these, with or without veins you can see, is worth an assessment.

The procedure day

How it works

Step by step, so there are no surprises on the day.

  1. Step 1

    You check in and change if needed

    You need your legs exposed from the ankle up, so wear something easy to roll up or step out of.

  2. Step 2

    The ultrasonographer scans your legs

    A certified ultrasonographer maps the veins and watches how blood moves through them. This is painless: a probe and gel on the skin.

  3. Step 3

    Reflux is measured

    The scan shows whether valves are failing and blood is falling back down the leg, which vein is responsible, and how far it extends.

  4. Step 4

    Your surgeon reads it with you

    Your results do not go into an envelope to be discussed weeks later. The surgeon reviews the images with you immediately afterward and explains what they show in language you can follow.

  5. Step 5

    You leave with a plan

    EVLT, sclerotherapy or laser, compression therapy, or prevention and monitoring if nothing needs treating yet.

Vein patients used to wait more than two years and make several trips before seeing a specialist. Putting the testing and the specialist consultation into one appointment removed most of that.

Getting ready

Before your appointment

A few practical things that make the day easier.

What to wear

Something that makes it easy to expose your legs from the ankle up.

Bring your history

If you have had previous vein treatment, bring what you know about it.

Bring your questions

There is a surgeon in the room, which is not something you get at every appointment.

Timing

[CLIENT TO CONFIRM: should patients avoid anything before a duplex scan, for example compression stockings on the day, or a long period of standing?]

What happens afterward

Recovery

What to expect, and when.

  1. Day 0

    The scan and the consultation happen in one visit. You leave knowing what is wrong, if anything, and what the options are.

  2. Days 1 to 3

    Nothing to recover from. There is no anesthetic, no needle and no downtime.

  3. Weeks 1 to 2

    If treatment is recommended, this is usually when it is scheduled. [CLIENT TO CONFIRM: what is the usual wait between assessment and a treatment appointment?]

  4. Weeks 4 to 6

    [CLIENT TO CONFIRM: is a repeat scan ever part of follow-up, and at what interval?]

Being straight with you

Side effects and suitability

No treatment is right for everyone, and this is what we tell patients before they decide.

Possible side effects

  • None. A duplex scan is painless, non-invasive and uses no injection, dye or radiation.
  • Some people find the gel cold, and the probe presses firmly in places.

Tell the ultrasonographer if any position is uncomfortable to hold.

When it may not be recommended

  • There is no reason not to have a vein ultrasound. It is the assessment that tells you whether anything else is appropriate.
  • If you have sudden swelling, pain, warmth or redness in one leg, do not wait for a scheduled appointment. Seek urgent medical care, and emergency care if it comes with chest pain or shortness of breath.

What to expect

Results and evidence

What the treatment does, and what the published evidence says about it.

By the end of the visit you will know which of these applies to you: endovenous laser treatment for larger refluxing veins, sclerotherapy or laser for spider and smaller surface veins, compression therapy as treatment or alongside it, or prevention and monitoring if there is nothing that needs treating yet.

The scan is also what decides whether a surface treatment would be a waste of your money. Treating visible veins while a refluxing vein feeds them tends to disappoint.

What the research says

Endothermal ablation, the group of treatments that includes endovenous laser, is recommended as first-line treatment for confirmed varicose veins with reflux in the NICE guideline on varicose veins (CG168). A randomised trial comparing laser ablation, radiofrequency ablation, foam sclerotherapy and surgical stripping was published by Rasmussen and colleagues in the British Journal of Surgery in 2011.

[CLIENT TO CONFIRM: Dr Davidson to approve citation. Suggested: NICE CG168, Varicose veins: diagnosis and management; and Rasmussen LH et al., Br J Surg 2011]

Paying for it

Cost and coverage

The question most people arrive with.

Payment options depend on what is being treated and why. Some vein care has public coverage and some does not, and we would rather tell you plainly at your consultation than have you guess. What applies depends on the clinical picture, and that is exactly what the ultrasound establishes.

Cost, coverage and financing

Duplex ultrasound vein assessment, answered

Questions

The questions patients ask us most often.

Does the scan hurt?

No. It is a painless scan: a probe and gel on the skin. Nothing is injected and there is no radiation.

How long does it take?

[CLIENT TO CONFIRM: how long does a duplex vein assessment usually take?]

Do I need a referral?

[CLIENT TO CONFIRM: do patients need a referral from a family doctor or nurse practitioner for a vein assessment in Nova Scotia, and is it different for PEI patients?]

Will I see the surgeon the same day?

Yes. That is the point of how the clinic is set up. The ultrasonographer scans your legs, and the surgeon reviews the results with you in the same visit.

What if the scan finds nothing?

Then you leave knowing your legs are fine, with prevention advice if it is useful. Plenty of people leave in that category and it is a good outcome.

Can I bring someone with me?

[CLIENT TO CONFIRM: can patients bring a family member into the consultation?]

What should I wear?

Something that makes it easy to expose your legs from the ankle up.

Is the scan covered?

Payment options depend on your situation and on what the scan is for. Raise it at booking rather than assuming either way.

Also at the vein clinic

Related treatments

Vein care is rarely one treatment on its own.

A laser closes a diseased vein from the inside, through a single entry point, under local anesthetic, in about one to two hours.

A liquid agent is injected into the vein through a fine needle, making it shrink and disappear over the weeks that follow.

Graduated compression is strongest at the ankle and decreases up the leg, supporting the calf muscle pump and helping blood return toward the heart.

Tired of achy, heavy legs?

Book an assessment and your surgeon will tell you plainly whether this is the right treatment for your legs.

Call 902-678-2121 Book a consultation

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