Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Brodie-Trendelenburg test
Introduction
Overview
The Brodie-Trendelenburg test is used to determine the site of valvular incompetence in a patient with varicose veins.
How to perform?
- Ask the patient to lie down.
- Elevate the leg, and empty the veins by massaging distal to proximal.
- Using a tourniquet, occlude the superficial veins in the upper thigh.
- Ask the patient to stand. If the tourniquet prevents the veins from re-filling rapidly, the site of the incompetent valve must be above this level i.e. at the sapheno-femoral junction. If the veins re-fill, the communication must be lower down.
Observing the same protocol, proceed down the leg until the tourniquet controls re-filling. As necessary, test:
- above the knee – to assess the mid-thigh perforator
- below the knee – to assess competence between the short saphenous vein and popliteal vein
If re-filling cannot be controlled, the communication is probably by one or more distal perforating veins.
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]