Page 10 - JacksonHospital

A RECOVERY THAT’S as speedy and pain-free as possible— this is a key goal of endovascular surgery, a treatment for blood vessel problems, which are often serious.

Endovascular means “inside blood vessels.” And that’s exactly where doctors perform this minimally invasive surgery. Guided by x-ray images on a video screen, they thread tiny instruments into diseased or damaged vessels to fx them.

Chances are you’re already familiar with the very frst en-dovascular procedure—angioplasty, pioneered in the 1970s. In this procedure, doctors help restore blood fow in dangerously clogged arteries in the heart, lower legs and other parts of the body by inserting a slender tube into the artery and then infat-ing a balloon at its tip.

There are many types of vascular disease that can be treated with endovascular surgery, including peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which is caused by blockages in the blood vessels that lead to your kidneys, stomach, arms or lower extremities. PAD occurs most often in the arteries in your legs, causing pain and

discomfort when you walk.

“If you develop crampy pain in your calves when you walk or develop foot wounds that are diffcult to heal, you may suffer from inadequate blood supply to your legs due to blockages in the arteries,” said Vladimir Zahradnik, MD, a vascular surgeon with the Jackson Clinic.

Most people with PAD can be treated with lifestyle changes, medicines or both. The goal is to lessen symptoms and stop the disease from getting worse.

The best thing you can do to help keep PAD under control is to exercise. Walking is a good option. Your doctor may recom-mend specifc leg exercises that can help too.

You may also be advised to stop smoking and improve your diet. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, you’ll need to keep them under control.

If lifestyle changes and medications aren’t enough, your