[Transoral ultrasonic flow metering of the vertebral arteries]

Using the method of ultrasonic flowmetering based on Doppler's effect with transoral positioning of the sensor occluding lesions of the vertebral arteries were diagnosed in 32 patients, in 22 of whom also the carotid arteries were involved. The method has proved to be effective in diagosing the subclavicular steal syndrome due to occlusions of the subclavicular arteries in 13 other patients. The agreement between the data of the transoral measurements of the blood flow in the vertebral arteries on the one hand, and the angiographic findings on the other was 81.1%. Disagreements were observed mostly in cases of stenosis of a vertebral artery combined with occlusions of the opposite vertebral artery.