Accuracy of hand-held Doppler in planning the operation for primary varicose veins.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether hand-held Doppler (HHD) examination is an adequate screening test in planning surgical treatment for primary varicose vein. DESIGN Prospective study. MATERIALS One hundred and eleven consecutive patients (142 legs) with primary, uncomplicated varicose veins. METHODS Legs were examined clinically, with HHD and duplex ultrasonography on the same day at the outpatient clinic. The plan for the subsequent treatment was recorded separately after each examination. RESULTS At the sapheno-femoral junction and at the sapheno-popliteal junction, the sensitivity was 56 and 23%, the specificity 97 and 96%, the positive predictive values was 98 and 43%, the negative predictive value was 44 and 91%, and the Kappa coefficient was 38 and 24%, respectively. Clinical examination failed to correctly plan the treatment in 21 (26%) of 80 proposed operations. In 13 limbs (9.1%) the HHD-based treatment plan was modified on the basis of duplex ultrasound findings. In seven cases, patients would have undergone only stab avulsion procedure, whereas stripping of a saphenous vein was indicated on the basis of duplex ultrasound findings. In two other cases, HHD findings would have led to resect the wrong saphenous vein. In six cases, the treatment was wrongly planned because of assessment problems during HHD examination at the popliteal fossa. CONCLUSIONS The accuracy of HHD in the preoperative evaluation of primary, uncomplicated varicose veins is unsatisfactory. These results suggest that duplex ultrasonography should be considered as the preoperative diagnostic method of choice.