The first consultation involves the following:
- A medical history relating to the varicose veins and your general health. It is important to know if you suffer from heart disease, other circulatory disorders, clotting or bleeding diseases, diabetes, asthma or migraine headaches. Notify if you take the oral contraceptive, hormone replacement therapy, warfarin or other medications.
- Examination and clinical photographs. Please let us know in advance if you do not wish to have photographs taken - failure to do so implies consent.
- Ultrasound examination of both legs. Clinical assessment alone is unreliable and patients require precise diagnosis from an ultrasound scan. This is frequently performed on the day of the initial consultation but this cannot be guaranteed. The scan shows where connections from deep to surface veins occur and the size of the saphenous veins and their tributaries. Scans from elsewhere almost invariably fail to provide enough information and should be avoided. The investigation performed by Victoria Vascular Ultrasound takes up to 30-40 minutes with you standing on a tilt table but there is no discomfort. Please ask if you wish to have copies of the ultrasound worksheets and reports. Discussion of the findings and proposed treatment options ensues. This allows you to decide whether or not to proceed to any intervention. At this time you should ask further questions about options for treatment.
