Carotid artery disease means built-up fat is clogging the blood vessels going to your brain. This increases your risk of stroke—brain damage due to a blockage in your brain’s supply of blood and oxygen. You can lower your risk of stroke with a procedure called TCAR, or transcarotid artery revascularization.
For this nonsurgical treatment, your doctor makes a tiny incision at the base of your neck. Then, the physician places a stent (miniature metal-mesh tube) in the clogged artery to keep it open. During the procedure, TCAR technology briefly reverses blood flow. That means any pieces of fat that break off won’t travel to your brain and cause a stroke. Your blood flow returns to normal after treatment.
You’re in experienced hands when you get TCAR at St. Bernards Medical Center. We’ve performed TCAR longer than any other hospital in our region.
An aneurysm is a weak, bulging spot in a blood vessel. It’s called an aortic aneurysm when it develops in your body’s largest artery, the aorta. Your doctor may recommend treating the aneurysm if it’s large or causes symptoms, such as pain in your chest, belly or back.
Aneurysm repair uses a stent graft—a short fabric tube supported by a metal structure. Your doctor places the tube at the aneurysm. Blood flows through the tube, relieving pressure on the weak area of the artery. This prevents the aneurysm from rupturing (bursting), a life-threatening emergency.
PAD happens when fat builds up in your leg arteries, reducing the flow of blood and oxygen. This leads to pain, weakness and slow wound healing in your lower body. To treat PAD, your doctor may recommend:
- Angioplasty and stenting – Uses a tiny balloon to widen clogged arteries and a stent (tube) to keep them open
- Atherectomy – Breaks up hard fat buildups with a miniature drill placed inside a blood vessel
- Peripheral vascular bypass surgery – Uses your healthy blood vessels or a graft (tube) to reroute blood around clogged arteries
These procedures improve blood flow through your legs, relieving your symptoms.
DVT is a blood clot that usually appears in the lower legs. It can slow the flow of blood and oxygen, leading to pain, swelling and open wounds. If part of the clot breaks off and travels to the lungs, it can cause trouble breathing—a medical emergency.
To treat DVT, a doctor may use a catheter (tiny tube) to deliver a special medication to the clot and dissolve it. The doctor makes a puncture in a vein, guides the catheter up to the clot and then sucks it out as it dissolves. This procedure is called catheter-directed thrombolysis.
Treating swollen, twisted varicose veins can prevent or reduce leg pain, blood clots and skin sores. Ask your doctor about your treatment options. You may benefit from one of these procedures:
- Ablation – Uses heat to close varicose veins
- Phlebectomy – Removes varicose veins through minor surgery
- Sclerotherapy – Gives varicose veins injections of a fluid that shrinks them
These treatments reroute blood through healthier vessels, improving the flow of blood and oxygen.
Aortic dissection is a tear in the wall of the aorta—your body’s largest artery. Blood starts to flow between the layers of the blood vessel, which can make the aorta burst or reduce blood flow to your organs. This is a medical emergency.
To treat it, a vascular specialist replaces the torn part of the blood vessel with a stent graft—a tube made of fabric and metal. The tube lets blood flow through the aorta as it should. Often, the doctor can insert the tube through a tiny incision over your artery. Compared to traditional surgery that uses a longer incision, this less invasive approach leads to a faster recovery.
