Vascular surgery

Vascular surgery is a medical specialty that diagnoses and treats diseases of arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels outside the heart and brain, using open operations and minimally invasive procedures.

Peripheral artery disease: A condition in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow, most often to the legs. Vascular surgeons restore limb blood flow when arterial narrowing causes pain, wounds, or threatened tissue.
Endovascular surgery: A method of treating vascular disease through catheters and instruments introduced into blood vessels. It allows many repairs through small access sites rather than large incisions.
Artery: A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart. Arterial wall structure and pressure shape the risks of aneurysm and occlusive disease.
Open surgery: An operation performed through an incision that exposes the target anatomy directly. It contrasts with catheter-based repair and remains necessary for many reconstructions.
Edwin Wylie: An American surgeon known for advancing vascular surgery and establishing a dedicated vascular training program. His work helped develop vascular surgery as a distinct surgical specialty.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm: An enlargement of the abdominal aorta that can rupture and cause life-threatening bleeding. Repairing this aneurysm is a major vascular operation, performed openly or through endovascular techniques.
Angioplasty: A procedure that widens a narrowed blood vessel by inflating a balloon within it. Balloon dilation can improve flow through stenotic arteries and veins.
Vein: A blood vessel that carries blood toward the heart. Venous valves and low-pressure flow explain varicose veins and chronic venous disease.
Interventional radiology: A medical specialty that uses image-guided minimally invasive procedures to diagnose and treat disease. Its practitioners perform overlapping endovascular treatments, with distinct training and practice structures.
Michael DeBakey: An American cardiovascular surgeon who developed major vascular operations and medical devices. His innovations helped expand surgical treatment of aortic and arterial disease.

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