Objective: To determine the clinical significance of continuous flow in the long saphenous vein in limbs with venous ulceration.
Design: Retrospective review.
Patients and methods: Review of 1608 consecutive limbs undergoing colour duplex scanning for venous disease over a 43 month period.
Results: Continuous flow in the long saphenous vein is seen in 8% of limbs with venous ulceration and in 37% of limbs with deep venous obstruction. Sixty-six per cent of ulcerated limbs with continuous flow in the long saphenous vein had deep venous obstruction, 27% had deep venous reflux with cellulitis and 7% had lymphoedema in addition to venous ulceration.
Conclusion: Continuous flow in the long saphenous vein in patients with venous ulceration should alert the clinician to the possibility of deep venous obstruction. Such limbs should be treated by compression bandaging with extreme caution.