ENDO VASCULAR INTERVENTION

Endovascular Surgery

Endovascular surgery is a form of minimally invasive surgery that is designed to remove blocks in major blood vessels, using balloons and stents. Basic techniques involve introduction of a catheter percutaneously into a large blood vessel (Seldinger technique). Typically the blood vessel chosen is the femoral artery or a vein found in the groin or the brachial artery at the elbow. A needle is inserted into the artery and a wire is passed inside. A small catheter is then passed over the wire and negotiated to the artery to be studied. The catheter is injected with a radio-opaque dye that can be seen on live X-ray or fluoroscopy. As the dye courses through the blood vessels, it images the blocks in the vessel and the circulation beyond the block. This serves as a road map to plan further treatment.
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Nowadays angioplasty is offered as the treatment of choice for treating limb ischemia. Advantages of angioplasty include: Advantages of angioplasty include

• It can be done without anesthesia.
• There is no long incision and wound-related issues.
• No Pain
• Patient can be mobilised early.
• Patient can be discharged after a day or two.
• It can be repeated if the block comes back.
• The disadvantages are that it is less durable than a bypass and the block tends to recur.