Long-term post-surgery follow-up is an essential part of the surgical and medical care for vascular surgery patients with peripheral arterial disease. Close collaboration with the patient's primary care physician is essential. In addition to close surveillance of the outcome after vascular surgery, follow-up includes an assessment and appropriate treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. Duplex ultrasound is a safe and noninvasive surveillance method, which should be performed by an experimented physician. We summarize the specific features of duplex ultrasound examinations after arterial surgery of the carotid arteries, the abdominal aorta and the lower limbs, and propose a surveillance schedule.
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