Intravascular Ultrasound, or IVUS, has been around for years now, and as technology has advanced, the method has become even more helpful in detecting Chronic Venous Disease. This is important because other venography approaches may not have the sensitivity or specificity necessary to diagnose CVD in the abdominal or pelvic areas of the body. Let’s take a closer look at how exactly IVUS works and what types of benefits it brings to overall patient care:

How IVUS Works

The first thing to know is that IVUS is a minimally invasive diagnostic procedure. A specially designed ultrasound catheter is inserted into a small incision in your leg. From there, doctors can view compressed or obstructed vessels, as well as guide a stent to reopen the veins. This procedure can help effectively relieve ulceration, swelling and pain stemming from CVD and Deep Vein Thrombosis. The images provided by IVUS can give essential insight for where blockages exist and will enable doctors to improve patient care.

The Real Benefits of IVUS

When it comes to medical approaches, the proof is seen through real-life results. Clinical trial data presented by Paul Gagne, MD, Chief of Vascular Surgery at Norwalk Hospital, found that IVUS is better at identifying lesions than the previous imaging standard. In fact, 29 percent of the participants had lesions detected by IVUS technology, even though they had previously been cleared by X-ray venogram results. Overall, IVUS found 88 percent more lesions than multiplanar X-ray venography.

Not only is IVUS a significant benefit to improving detection, but it also can be a boon for doctor operations. In an interview with Cath Lab Digest, Daniel H. Steinberg, MD, noted that IVUS can help optimize vessel and stent sizing, as well as determine the adequacy of stent deployment. From this, doctors will have a better idea of how the lesion will behave and can plan accordingly. In certain cases, it can be easy to under or overestimate vessel size, but IVUS helps doctors make more accurate predictions.

IVUS is becoming a more prominent approach to vein care and detecting CVD within difficult areas. To schedule a consultation and see if IVUS is right for you, contact Heart Care Centers of Illinois at (708) 783-2055 or visit us at heartcc.com.

For more IVUS information please visit Volcano corporation’s website at volcanocorp.com