Phlebography is a radiological examination of the veins (most often of the lower extremities) after the contrast is administered directly into the venous vessel. They are performed when there are suspicions of blood clots in the veins of the lower extremities, with varicose veins.
Phlebographyis invasive research. You will be referred to them when the ultrasound results are inconclusive or if you need to undergo surgery - in this case, careful imaging of the venous system is necessary.Testis also performed in cases of recurrent varicose veins after operations.
Venography involves injecting a contrast agent into theveinof the femoral foot or brachial veins and then viewing the pathways through which it spreads. There are two types of venography: ascending and descending.
Ascending phlebography
It is performed to diagnose deep vein thrombosis. Your doctor injects you with a contrast agent into a vein on the back of your foot, which is directed into the deep vein system. To visualize the deep veins of the lower limbs, he puts on a tourniquet at the height of the middle of the shin or places you in a standing position on a tilting table. However, it is not possible to examine the internal iliac veins or the deep veins of the thigh in this way.
Descending phlebography
It is used to visualize venous reflux, i.e. blood retraction in the superficial and deep system, and to determine the leakage sites: from the pelvis to the lower limbs and from the deep to the superficial system. With its help, you can also view the location and morphology of venous valves. During this examination, you lie on a tilting table that is almost vertical. The doctor guides a cannula, i.e. a special needle for insertion into the brachial, femoral or popliteal vein, and then injects a contrast agent. The examination assesses the efficiency of deep veins and connections of deep and superficial systems.