Normal Lower Extremity Venous Duplex (DVT) Report Template

Normal lower extremity venous duplex report template: compressibility, color flow and augmentation by segment, with wording for a limited calf evaluation.

EXAMINATION: Venous duplex ultrasound of the [right/left] lower
extremity.

CLINICAL HISTORY: [indication]

COMPARISON: None available.

TECHNIQUE: Real-time grayscale compression, color and spectral Doppler
imaging of the deep veins of the lower extremity.

FINDINGS:
Common femoral vein: Compressible. Normal phasic flow and augmentation.
Femoral vein: Compressible throughout. Normal color filling.
Popliteal vein: Compressible. Normal color filling.
Posterior tibial and peroneal veins: Compressible with normal color
filling where visualized.
Great saphenous vein: Unremarkable at the saphenofemoral junction.

IMPRESSION:
1. No deep venous thrombosis in the [right/left] lower extremity.

Dictation notes

• When the calf veins are incompletely seen, say so and qualify the impression — “no DVT” without that caveat overstates the study.
• Phasicity at the common femoral vein is the window on the pelvic veins; absent phasicity deserves its own impression line.

Frequently asked questions

Which veins are assessed in a lower extremity DVT ultrasound?

A lower extremity venous duplex assesses the common femoral vein, femoral vein, popliteal vein, and the posterior tibial and peroneal veins where visualized, plus the great saphenous vein at the saphenofemoral junction. For each segment the report documents compressibility, color filling, and phasic flow with augmentation. The normal impression is 'No deep venous thrombosis' in the examined extremity.

How should incompletely seen calf veins be reported?

When the calf veins are incompletely visualized, the report should say so and qualify the impression — an unqualified 'no DVT' overstates the study. Isolated calf DVT is real and can propagate, so the clinician needs to know the below-knee segments were not fully assessed; depending on the clinical context this may prompt a repeat examination in about a week or an alternative strategy.

What does loss of phasic flow at the common femoral vein suggest?

Respiratory phasicity at the common femoral vein is the duplex examination's window on the pelvic veins, which are not directly compressed. A continuous, non-phasic waveform — especially when asymmetric with the other side — suggests more central obstruction such as iliac vein thrombosis or extrinsic compression, and deserves its own line in the impression with a recommendation for pelvic venous imaging when clinically appropriate.

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