Vascular Surgery
Vascular surgery covers a bunch of different operations and procedures that help with problems in your blood vessels. These vessels, like your arteries and veins, are like highways in your body that carry blood to and from your heart and feed your organs and tissues. When these highways get damaged or clogged up, it can cause some serious issues.
A vascular surgeon is a doctor who’s an expert in dealing with problems in your blood vessels and heart. They are like expert mechanics for your body’s blood highways, fixing up any traffic jams or potholes to keep things running smoothly.
Vascular surgeons team up with other specialists, like heart doctors and blood experts, to make sure you get the best care possible. They can do their work either in a hospital or outpatient clinic.
Sometimes, just changing up your lifestyle or taking some meds can help out with your blood vessel troubles. But if things are really serious, surgery might be needed to keep things from getting worse.
Vascular surgeons handle all sorts of issues using different techniques. Some common conditions they treat are:
- Aortic aneurysms: This is when a part of your main blood vessel bulges out.
- Peripheral artery disease: It’s when your arteries outside your heart and brain get blocked, usually causing pain in your legs or arms.
- Carotid artery disease: When the blood vessels supplying blood to your brain get blocked, raising the risk of a stroke.
- Varicose veins: These are swollen and twisted veins that can be painful.
- Deep vein thrombosis: Blood clots in deep veins, usually in the legs.
- Renal artery stenosis: Narrowing of the artery supplying blood to your kidneys.
- Mesenteric artery stenosis: Narrowing of the artery supplying blood to your small intestine.
- Thoracic outlet syndrome: When blood vessels or nerves in your upper chest get squished.