Individuals with pain in their feet or sores that won't heal are prime candidates. If the artery closes off, the leg may become painful, numb or cold. People at significant risk for circulatory problems include diabetics, seniors, smokers or those with high cholesterol. Patients undergo an initial assessment to determine where the artery may be blocked. We make sure they not only have a blocked artery but also that it's the cause of the sore on their foot.
Doctors scan the patient's arteries using a painless ultrasound device.
In places where an artery has narrowed, the blood rushes faster and the ultrasound detects the difference in sound. Improvements in vascular surgery, including new magnification techniques, allow surgeons to operate much farther down the leg. People believe there's a limit as to how far down the leg we can go with a bypass. Another change in the inpatient procedure is the use of the patient's own tissue. Surgeons take a vein from the same leg, avoiding extra incisions, and attach it to the blocked artery to bypass the blood.