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• Vascular diseases
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm bypass surgery
• Peripheral vascular disease bypass surgery
• Neck carotid artery surgery
Vascular surgery treats diseases involving the arteries and veins. Some diseases occur only in arteries, such as blood clots and arteriosclerosis, some occur only in the veins, while others affect both arteries and veins. Vascular diseases become more common as people age, with many people not even realizing they suffer from these diseases in their early stages. Other factors, besides age, that increase the chances of vascular disease include family history, illness or injury, pregnancy, prolonged periods of inactivity, lack of exercise, smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol. Vascular procedures performed by Gerig surgeons include abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, and carotid arteries.
The aorta is the large artery that carries blood from the heart to the body. An aneurysm is a localized widening of a blood vessel. Aortic aneurysms often do not produce symptoms, but a rupture can be catastrophic. The traditional surgical approach to repairing a ruptured aneurysm involves cutting out the defective section of the aorta and replacing it with a synthetic graft. Another approach is endovascular grafting, where a tube allows the surgeon to position a graft inside the aneurysm and protect it from expanding.
Arteries and veins carry blood throughout the body. Peripheral vascular disease occurs when fatty substances build up within the vessels (atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries) and reduce or block blood flow. Bypass surgery redirects blood through a grafted blood vessel to bypass the affected blood vessel.
The two large carotid arteries in the neck supply oxygenated blood to the parts of the brain that control thinking, speech, personality, and sensory and motor functions. Over time, fatty substances and cholesterol can lead to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) on the inside of the vessels, decreasing blood flow to the brain and increasing the risk of stroke. Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a surgical procedure to remove the plaque and diseased portions of the artery.