Vascular Center: Treatments
We believe that everyone who visits our vascular clinic is unique. As a patient, you do not have to choose from a limited menu of treatment options based on a surgeon’s narrow expertise or preference.
Instead, we develop personalized treatment plans for every patient, based on his or her medical needs. If your condition requires surgery, we offer thorough pre-operative counseling. We treat a wide range of vascular conditions, from the most basic cases to some of the most complex patients in the country. Our doctors discuss patients with more complicated vascular conditions at weekly team meetings, where they get the full benefit of our highly-specialized staff.
Surgery is Not the Only Option
When some patients visit our clinic to see a vascular surgeon, they worry that surgery is inevitable. We do not believe that every vascular patient must head right to the operating room. When possible, we offer medical alternatives, such as medication, lifestyle changes and regular follow-up care to monitor conditions.
More Surgical Choices Means Higher Quality
We perform the latest minimally-invasive techniques, such as endovascular grafts and stents, but still offer on-staff expertise with open surgeries. While many cases hinge on anatomical considerations, such as the shape or size of your veins, we walk our patients through the pros and cons of every treatment option.
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: We are proud to be among only a small handful of hospitals trained in the newly FDA-approved fenestrated endograft procedure. It offers a minimally-invasive alternative to open surgery to patients with short necks.
- Carotid Artery Disease: We perform stenting and open surgery because many vascular scenarios can be treated more than one way. Many practices today only do stenting.
- Dialysis Access: We offer fistula, graft and catheter-based techniques. We are one of the largest centers for peritoneal dialysis in the region.
- Mesenteric Artery Ischemia: For some patients, a minimally-invasive approach is not an option. But many training programs across the country are switching to catheter-based work. Our team has the experience to do both catheter procedures and open bypass surgery. In fact, the Wake Forest Baptist Health Vascular Center is a nationwide referral center for open, complex mesenteric renal surgeries.
- Peripheral Artery Disease: We offer advanced surgical revascularization as well as interventional procedures, such as stents and angioplasty.
- Renal Artery Disease: We are among only a few medical centers trained to treat renal artery blockages and aneurysms with both open surgery and minimally-invasive, catheter-based procedures. We are a major referral center nationally and internationally for patients with these vascular conditions.
Advanced Technology Matters
Our surgeons have access to the latest technology and equipment. That makes us a smart and safe choice for patients:
- Our on-site vascular lab offers same-say service for ultrasounds.
- Our lab techs routinely perform intraoperative completion ultrasounds as a quality metric.
- We have a hybrid lab in our operating room, so we are ready for open surgery or a bypass in case of an emergency during minimally-invasive stent procedures.
- Our Operating Room team includes vascular technologists for imaging support and nurses who are trained and accredited in vascular care.
- We use top-of-the-line 3-D imaging systems and reconstruction systems.
- We have a vascular ICU and a Heart and Vascular floor where most of our patients stay when in the hospital.