Vascular Laboratory at Swedish Vascular Surgery
The Swedish Vascular Laboratory provides vascular diagnostic ultrasound testing with the latest, state-of-the-art equipment. We are accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC), the nation's certification authority for non-invasive vascular laboratories. Our vascular sonographers are certified as registered vascular technologists with the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonography and have extensive experience in vascular diagnosis.
Same-day service
Our goal is to provide same-day service for patients and providers requesting vascular testing.
After each exam, we’ll call the referring provider about any serious findings. Preliminary results are immediately sent via EPIC (internal providers) or fax (external providers). Referring providers have the option of having their patients with critical vascular lab findings (e.g. Acute DVT), receive a same-day, in-clinic consultation with a vascular surgeon, along with treatment and follow-up, if indicated.
Types of tests
We perform the following vascular tests:
Peripheral venous duplex
Performed by experienced vascular sonographers, we evaluate upper and lower extremities to rule out acute, chronic or recurring deep vein thrombosis (DVT), examine varicose veins and map veins prior to surgery. With all peripheral venous testing, referring physicians will be notified immediately by phone of positive or negative DVT results. If requested by the referring provider, the patient may then receive a consultation with a vascular surgeon, treatment and follow-up monitoring in our clinic.
Peripheral arterial duplex
This test is used to evaluate for occlusive disease, aneurysm, claudication, ulceration, diminished pulses and bypass graft evaluation. For claudicating patients, exercise testing is administered with resting and post-exercise ankle and arm blood pressures prior to imaging of the arteries. Dialysis access grafts can also be assessed for patency and function.
Cerebrovascular duplex
This test is needed to evaluate bruit, transient ischemic attack (TIA), stroke/CVA, preoperative screening and syncope, among other indications. All major branches of the aortic arch are imaged, including innominate, vertebral and subclavian arteries in addition to common, internal and external carotid arteries. If indicated, intracranial arteries are imaged to assess for intracranial artery stenosis and the presence of any collateralization resulting from a significant cervical carotid artery stenosis.
Abdominal duplex
This test is used to monitor aneurysms, occlusive disease and to assess endo-luminal or bypass grafts of the aorta or iliac arteries. Visceral vascular and renal artery duplex are available for patients with hypertension, intestinal angina or intrahepatic stents, such as TIPS. With all abdominal imaging patients, we request at least eight hours of fasting prior to exam time to minimize bowel gas.