The results of femoropopliteal PTA performed for treatment of subcritical or critical lower limb ischemia seemed to be inferior to the results of infrainguinal bypass grafting reported in literature. However, because the PTA procedure does not preclude the performance of bypass grafting, it might be an alternative to surgical intervention in limbs with stenotic femoropopliteal lesions. PTA might also be considered in patients with high surgical risk and limited life expectancy, having short occlusive lesions (< 5 cm).

the Doppler angle of insonation has a significant effect on spectral Doppler velocity measurements. It is crucial that duplex criteria are standardised with a fixed angle of insonation and that this angle is consistently used during velocity estimations.

The aim of this study was to investigate prospectively the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after surgery for morbid obesity. The series comprised 116 consecutive patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The median age and body mass index were 35 years (range 19-59 years) and 42 kg/m2 (range 32-68 kg/m2), respectively. The patients were examined with duplex ultrasonography pre- and postoperatively. No patient had any symptoms or signs of DVT postoperatively, and ultrasonography showed no signs of thrombosis in iliac, femoral, and popliteal veins in any of the patients. Two patients (1.7%) had a thrombus in the peroneal vein of one leg. Repeated ultrasonographic investigation after 1 week showed complete resolution of both. One patient with a previously unknown activated protein C resistance had an angiographically confirmed minor pulmonary embolus. The incidence of venous thromboembolism after obesity surgery seems to be low, and obesity as a risk factor for thromboembolic disease might have been overestimated in the past.

in patients with conclusive duplex scan findings there is no need to perform angiography prior to lower limb reconstruction.

Duplex scanning can safely be used for the selection of patients for infrainguinal PTA. The sensitivity of duplex scanning in the selection of lesions for PTA was less satisfactory in the popliteal and crural arteries compared with the femoropopliteal arteries.