[Duplex scanning in the diagnosis of diseases of the thoracic aorta].

In the Department of Vascular Surgery, A. V. Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery, USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, Duplex scanning was used to examine 40 patients. It was demonstrated that 20 patients had aneurysms of the arch and descending thoracic aorta; 4, dissecting aneurysms of Types I and III; 5, aortic coarctation; 11 patients had thoracic aorta aneurysms resected. The optimal point for scanning in the diagnosis of aneurysms and coarctation of the thoracic aorta is the jugular fossa. The diagnostic value of the duplex scanning in the detection of aneurysms of the arch and descending thoracic aorta amounted to 90%, that of aortic coarctation, 100%. The technique is noninvasive and highly informative, assessing the results of surgical therapy of thoracic aorta abnormalities in late periods following operation.