Vascular Surgery at West Kentucky Surgical

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. Early pioneers of the field include Russian surgeon Nikolai Korotkov, noted for developing early surgical techniques, and Robert Paton, one of the first Australian vascular surgeons and often credited with helping the field achieve recognition as a speciality. Edwin Wylie of San Francisco was one of the early American pioneers who developed and fostered advanced training in vascular surgery and pushed for its recognition as a specialty in the United States in the 1970s. 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.

Associated areas of interest and operative surgical practice for vascular surgeons are access surgery for hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, organ harvesting for transplantation, renal transplantation, pancreatic solid organ transplantation Organ transplant.

Vascular surgeons will frequently have close associations with specialist vascular radiology clinics for a combined treatment of certain conditions. The radiologists contribute to endovascular cases management, sometimes with angioplasty and stenting, but more often in specific areas of expertise e.g. sclerotherapy for vascular anomalies and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), coil embolisation of bleeding visceral arteries in trauma or for occlusion of tumour supplying arteries as a prelude to operation, CT-guided procedures such as lumbar chemical sympathectomy.

Common medical associations are the involvement providing surgical opinions and treatment for a multidisciplinary clinic with vascular surgeons, vascular nurses, wound management nurses, podiatrists, prosthetists, rehabilition physicians, vascular physicians, endocrinologists, etc. to manage high risk foot disease patients.

Less common operative surgical associations are: sympathectomy (ETS, Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy), lumbar sympathectomy, Hyperhidrosis surgery); vascular access for chemotherapy etc. patients; dialysis/ECMO (extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation) for patients in Intensive Care Wards; vascular mobilisation for access associated with other specialist operations e.g. extensive orthopaedic spinal and pelvic surgery, retroperitoneal cancer dissections, renal tumour surgery.