Vascular surgery is a specialty of surgery in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries and veins, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures, and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolved from general and cardiac surgery. Edwin Wylie of San Francisco was one of the early pioneers in the specialty who developed and fostered advanced training in vascular surgery and pushed for its recognition as a specialty in the United States in the 1960's and 1970's. The vascular surgeon is trained in the diagnosis and management of diseases affecting all parts of the vascular system except that of the heart and brain. Cardiothoracic surgeons manage surgical disease of the heart and its vessels. Neurosurgeons manage surgical disease of the vessels in the brain (eg intracranial aneurysms).

Breadth of discipline

• Arterial diseases ( especially in Diabetics )
  • Aneurysms
  • Ischemia
    • Limb ischemia
      • Acute limb ischemia
        • Thrombectomies
        • Embolectomies
        • Anti-coagulation and Thrombolysis
      • Chronic limb ischemia
        • see intermittent claudication and peripheral artery occlusive disease
        • Diabetic foot ulcers
    • Mesenteric ischemia
    • Renal ischemia
  • Extracranial cerebrovascular disease
    • Carotid Endarterectomy and other carotid surgery
    • Surgery of the vertebral system
• Venous disease
  • Deep Vein Thrombosis
  • Thrombophlebitis
  • Varicose Veins and Varicosities
  • Venous malformations
• Lymphatic disease
  • Lymphoedema

• Vascular Medicine
  • Medical disorders with a significant vascular components, for example:
    • Raynaud's syndrome
    • Scleroderma

Training

Previously considered a field within general surgery, it is now considered a specialty in its own right. As a result, there are two pathways for training in the United States. Traditionally, a five year general surgery residency is followed by a 1-2 year (typically 2 years) vascular surgery fellowship. An alternative path is to perform a five or six year vascular surgery residency.

Programs of training are slightly different depending on the region of the world one is in.

Surgical Procedures

By no means exhaustive, but below are a number of common procedures and indications for vascular surgeons.

References

1. ↑ VascularWeb: New Vascular Surgery Training Paradigms

External links

• Vascular surgery Material on arterial and venous surgery.
• Society for Vascular Surgery (U.S.)
• European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery: the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery.
• list of keywords and links to prominent sites pertaining to vascular surgery

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