Vascular surgery is one of the least understood, but most rapidly changing fields of medical practice. Previously a simple term for surgery on the arteries and veins, today’s vascular surgery is a complex, minimally invasive set of procedures focusing on high-tech solutions to age-old problems of blood flow. As blood pressure and cholesterol rates rise across the globe, vascular surgeons stand on the cutting edge of surgical response to these issues. In addition, many vascular surgeons work closely with other doctors in transplants and brain surgery, in order to insure the patient’s safety and avoid complications.
What Do Vascular Surgeons Treat?
Broadly speaking, vascular surgeons treat any disease of the cardiovascular system other than those directly affecting the heart or brain. Frequently, patients who suffer from blood clots due to high cholesterol are sent in to see vascular surgeons, who can apply stents or other surgeries as needed to prevent complications. Many also assist patients who need dialysis due to a loss of kidney function, especially when those patients suffer from hemophilia or other diseases that make traditional dialysis difficult. Other common complaints which require vascular surgeon intervention include varicose veins, aortoiliac disease, and lymphedema, among many other, more uncommon issues. Vascular surgeons are very rarely primary caregivers; usually you will need to be diagnosed with an arterial disease before seeing a vascular surgeon.
What Surgeries Do Vascular Surgeons Do?
The most common surgeries performed by vascular surgeons are arterial or venous stents, often in the form of angioplasty, used to treat either peripheral artery disease or plaque buildups. Simply put, angioplasty is when the surgeon inserts a small balloon into your arteries, and inflates it to widen the vessel. He or she may then insert a stent (a mesh, essentially) into your artery to keep it unobstructed in the future. May patients greatly prefer it to bypass surgery, as it is cheaper, less invasive, has less risk of complication, and allows the patient to return to work in a matter of days. More invasive surgeries are also used. To repair an aneurysm, a physician administers anesthesia to the patient before opening the artery where their aneurysm has taken place. Then, he or she inserts a graft in the shape of a healthy artery, which the patient’s damaged artery repairs itself around in the coming weeks. Particularly severe aneurysms may require the use of several stints in addition, or even a bypass to keep the artery from collapsing in the worst cases.
What Complications Can Arise After Vascular Surgery?
According to the Vascular & Interventional Pavilion, Vascular surgery typically has a very low risk of serious complication, owing to the minimally invasive nature of most vascular surgical procedures. In most surgeries, especially stints and dialysis preparation, the most common side effect is a dull pain in the area where the incision was made for several days. Should this pain remain for more than a month, it is highly recommended that the patient see their doctor to minimize the risk of a more serious complication. Finally, men who undergo surgery on their femoral or iliac arteries are likely to experience erectile disfunction or retrograde ejaculation in the weeks following their surgery, and should avoid sexual activity for a number of months afterwards. Larger-scale or more invasive surgeries, such as the aforementioned aneurysm repair surgery, can sometimes lead to more serious complications. Chest pains and other heart problems are sometimes exacerbated by any major surgery on the vascular system, and may require a visit to a pulmonologist to rectify. Kidney and colon issues are a rare, but serious complication that patients should watch out for following their hospital visit. Finally, in extremely rare cases, patients have experienced paralysis following aortic surgery, however, the chances are very low for most patients. Your doctor will warn you if you are expected to experience a high risk of this particular complication. SOURCES: vascularweb.org Wikipedia: Vascular Surgery
