Vascular Surgery

Arteries can become blocked when fatty substances, called plaque, build up inside them. Using a catheter and wire, we insert a small balloon into the blocked artery. We then expand the balloon to widen the artery and improve blood flow. Depending on the severity of the condition, we may leave a wire mesh tube (stent) in place to continue supporting the artery.

We use a bypass graft to reroute the blood flow in a blocked artery. We may use your own tissue (vein) or an artificial material (a type of plastic) for the bypass graft. When possible, we use your own tissue, because the bypass graft will last longer and have a lower risk of infection.

Blockages due to atherosclerosis in the neck arteries that supply blood to the brain can lead to stroke. We treat these blockages by making a small incision, removing the plaque and, in some cases, removing the diseased portion of the artery. If needed, we place a patch from part of another blood vessel or artificial material to close the artery. 

We use several techniques to treat diseases of the thoracic aorta, which is the upper section of the large artery that carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body. Our surgeons work with you to determine which procedure is right for you.

One technique is traditional, open surgery, where we make an incision to access the artery. We remove the weakened part of the artery and replace it with a graft (a fabric) to replace that section of the artery.

We use minimally invasive surgery to repair aneurysms in the aorta. During EVAR, we thread a catheter through the groin into an artery, guiding the catheter to the aortic aneurysm. We use the catheter to place a stent graft inside the aneurysm to reinforce that section of the aorta. The stent graft relieves pressure on the aneurysm wall to prevent it from rupturing. 

For thoracic aneurysms (those that occur above the diaphragm), we may perform TEVAR rather than open surgery. In a catheter procedure, we insert a stent graft into the weakened artery to support the artery walls. 

Varicose veins are bulging, discolored veins that often result from leaky vein valves, causing blood to pool in the leg veins (reflux). Our surgeons insert a catheter into the diseased varicose veins. As we slowly remove the catheter, the heat from the tip of the device closes the diseased vein behind it.

Some superficial (close to skin surface) varicose veins need to be removed. In these cases, we make tiny incisions in the skin and remove the malfunctioning veins.