Capillary microscopic findings in patients with CVI under different hydrostatic conditions

Capillary microscopy in patients with CVI can show many morphological abnormalities like tortuous and elongated capillaries, heterogenous distribution of capillary tufts or microvascular thrombosis. Microcirculatory changes also become evident when examination is done under different hydrostatic conditions. For this purpose a new fiberoptic microscope was used, with an optical surface probe including a CCD camera. Fifteen patients with CVI stages I and II and 10 healthy volunteers were examined at the medial ankle area in supine, sitting and standing position. Patients with CVI showed larger vessel diameters in comparison to controls, the differences increasing with rising hydrostatic pressure. The perfusion type changed in both groups with venules becoming more evident especially in standing position.