No Tertiary Care Hospital Services could be planned without Vascular Surgery. The vascular system – the arteries that deliver oxygen to every living cell in your body and veins that bring back used blood to the lungs and heart – is critical to maintaining good health. When these blood vessels become blocked, serious illness may arise and often patients attend hospitals in critical conditions such as Heart Attacks in which the artery supplying blood to the heart gets blocked and emergency angioplasty is carried out to prevent further major complications. In many cases, patients with vascular problems like atherosclerosis may experience no symptoms at all – until it’s too late. Symptoms of advanced vascular conditions might include intermittent pain that feels like cramps or muscle fatigue.
Risks: Vascular disease becomes more prevalent as we age. Factors that increase your likelihood of developing vascular problems include the following:
- Increasing age
- Family history
- Injury
- Pregnancy
- Prolonged periods of inactivity
- Smoking
- Obesity
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
Types of Vascular Surgery
There are various types of vascular surgery, depending on the problem you have. Listed below are some of the conventional techniques for addressing issues affecting your vascular system.
1. Angioplasty and Stenting
Angioplasty and stenting is a minimally invasive procedure in which your surgeon opens a narrowed artery using a catheter-guided balloon. This procedure treats conditions that include:
- Carotid artery disease, is a narrowing of the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the brain
- Peripheral artery disease is a narrowing of the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood to the arms and legs
2. Atherectomy
Atherectomy is another minimally invasive procedure in which a specialized catheter is inserted into a blocked artery that allows your vascular surgeon to cut and remove plaque from within your blood vessels. This method can be used to treat patients with peripheral artery disease and allows vascular access for patients who need dialysis.
3. Arteriovenous (AV) Fistula
During an AV fistula procedure, your vascular surgeon connects a vein in your forearm directly to an artery. This makes the vein stronger and wider, and more easily to be accessed for patients with kidney failure who require dialysis.
4. Arteriovenous (AV) Graft
Similar to the AV fistula procedure that creates an access point for dialysis, an AV graft procedure also involves surgically connecting an artery to a vein – but in this case, via a synthetic tube (the “graft”).
5. Open Abdominal Surgery
Open abdominal surgery involves making a small incision to repair an aortic aneurysm or blockage of the aorta (the artery that travels from your heart down to the pelvis) where it passes through the abdomen. In many cases, your vascular surgeon will suture a graft into the aorta to redirect blood flow around the problem area.
6. Thrombectomy
A thrombectomy is a procedure to remove a blood clot from a vein or artery. It is done to restore proper blood flow and prevent life-threatening complications such as when a blood clot travels to the lungs (pulmonary embolism) or brain, which can cause a stroke. Angioplasty and stenting may also be performed at the same time as a thrombectomy.
7. Vascular Bypass Surgery
Bypass grafting is a surgical treatment that focuses on creating an alternate channel for blood flow, bypassing a damaged vessel.
This surgery may be used to treat patients with the following disorders:
- Vertebrobasilar disease affects blood flow to the back of the brain
- Peripheral artery disease affects blood flow to the arms and legs
- Renal vascular disease affects blood flow to the kidneys
- Mesenteric vascular disease affects blood flow to the intestines
8. Open Carotid and Femoral Endarterectomy
Open carotid and femoral endarterectomy involve the surgical removal of plaque within the inner lining of the arteries feeding blood to your brain or legs, respectively. This surgery is performed in cases of moderate to severe blockage.
South City Hospital has four Vascular Surgeons, Interventional Radiologists, Interventional Neurosurgeon, and Six Interventional Cardiologists, who are capable of managing appropriate cases and implementing open or endovascular methods of treatment for different kinds of vascular disorders.
