Treatment for Vascular Problems

Minimally Invasive Vascular Procedures & Advanced Surgical Techniques

In the past, most patients with vascular problems were treated using traditional surgical techniques, but today minimally invasive procedures such angioplasty, stenting, and atherectomy are available to treat patients with many forms of vascular disease.

Minimally invasive procedures involve only one or more small incisions and offer:

• Shortened recovery time
• Reduced risk of postoperative complications
• Reduced pain
• Less scarring

The greatest benefit has been in the elderly or patients with increased surgical risk. These procedures are performed by a vascular surgeon who threads a tiny, balloon-tipped hollow tube (catheter) through a small incision, usually made in the groin, to the site where the artery has narrowed. The balloon is inflated to clear the blockage. The vascular surgeon may also use the balloon to expand a stent--a tiny mesh cylinder--within the wall of the artery to strengthen the blood vessel.

In addition to minimally invasive endovascular procedures, Mercy Health System's vascular teams also offer surgical repair of diseased or damaged vessels. We perform open surgical procedures such as fem-pop by-pass, fem-fem bypass, repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms and carotid endartarectomy.

Our health care team provides both open surgery and minimally invasive procedures for conditions such as:

• Carotid stenosis
• Aortic aneurysm
• Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA)
• Revascularization
• Short occlusions and focal stenoses
• Extensive arterial occlusion
• Hemodialysis access and hemodialysis maintenance