Deep venous thrombosis following transurethral resection of the prostate: diagnosis by phleborheography

Deep venous thrombosis is a potential complication of transurethral resection of the prostate. We evaluated 150 paients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate for benign and malignant disease to determine the postoperative incidence of deep vein thrombosis, using phleborheography as the instrument of detection. Phleborheography is an accurate, inexpensive, non-invasive method that uses low pressure transducers to detect volumetric changes in the lower extremity through recording cuffs. A 4.6 per cent incidence of deep venous thrombosis was detected by this technique. At the time this complication was discovered no patient exhibited clinical signs of thrombophlebitis, which reinforces the belief that clinical diagnosis alone is not a reliable screening technique for deep venous thrombosis. Anticoagulant therapy appears to be effective and safe in the treatment of this postoperative complication.