Abdominal Doppler ultrasound (portal vein, aorta, digestive vessels)

An abdominal Doppler examines the large blood vessels of the abdomen: the abdominal aorta, the portal vein (which carries blood from the bowel to the liver), the liver veins and the arteries supplying the bowel. Depending on the referral, it is performed by a cardiologist, an angiologist (a doctor specialising in blood vessels) or a radiologist. It is requested in liver disease (cirrhosis) to look for portal hypertension or a clot in the portal vein, to measure and monitor an aneurysm (widening) of the abdominal aorta, or for abdominal pain after meals, which may be caused by reduced blood supply to the bowel (mesenteric ischaemia). The test is done on an empty stomach, because gas and digestion block the ultrasound. When two non-adjacent regions need to be studied (for example the abdomen and the legs), they can be done in the same session.