Peripheral Vascular Disease (cont.)
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Daniel Lee Kulick, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Dr. Kulick received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Southern California, School of Medicine. He performed his residency in internal medicine at the Harbor-University of California Los Angeles Medical Center and a fellowship in the section of cardiology at the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology.
In this Article
- Peripheral vascular disease facts
- What is peripheral vascular disease?
- What is atherosclerosis?
- How does atherosclerosis cause disease?
- What are potential complications of peripheral artery disease?
- What are the other causes of peripheral vascular diseases?
- Who is at risk for peripheral artery disease?
- What are the symptoms and signs of peripheral artery disease?
- How is peripheral artery disease diagnosed?
- What are the treatments for peripheral artery disease?
- Lifestyle changes
- Supervised exercise
- Medications
- Angioplasty
- Surgery
- Find a local Cardiologist in your town
Surgery
Surgical treatment for peripheral artery disease involves either bypass surgery performed by a vascular surgeon or endarterectomy. Indications for surgical treatment of peripheral artery disease include lesions that, for anatomical reasons, may be difficult to treat by angioplasty. Examples include lesions covering long segments of a vessel, vessels with multiple narrowed areas, or long areas of narrowing. Bypass surgery involves using a vein from your body or a portion of synthetic vessel (known as grafts) to create a detour around the blockage. One end of the graft is sewn to the damaged artery above the blockage and the other end is sewn below the blocked area. Blood flow is then able to bypass the area of narrowing or blockage Bypass surgery is a major surgical procedure requiring general anesthesia and a hospital stay.
Endarterectomy is a procedure in which the surgeon cleans out plaque buildup inside the artery of the affected leg or arm.
REFERENCES:
Stephens, Everett, et al. "Peripheral Vascular Disease." MedlinePlus. 15 March 2010. <http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/761556-overview>.
American Heart Association. <http://www.heart.org>.
Previous contributing editor: Dennis Lee, MD.
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