Vascular Surgery & Endovascular Therapy

Quality Patient Care Shaped by a History of Innovative Therapy

Since its inception over 75 years ago, the vascular surgery service at Emory in Atlanta, Georgia, has had an international role in advancing the treatment of arterial and venous disease. In the early 1990s, vascular surgery began shifting focus from traditional, open procedures to minimally-invasive and endovascular therapy techniques, pharmaceuticals and gene therapy, a transition that was invigorated and validated by a wide range of clinical trials undertaken by the service's board-certified staff of Emory University School of Medicine-based faculty physicians. In 2001, the service was renamed the Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy to underscore its commitment to forward-looking procedures and research. Over the past ten years, the division's basic science research program has received over 14 million dollars of funding from the NIH.

The division continues to be a premier provider of inpatient and outpatient care to treat:

• Acute venous thrombosis and chronic venous insufficiency
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Thoracic aortic aneurysm
• Carotid artery disease
• Peripheral arterial occlusive disease
• Varicose veins and spider veins

During the past year, division surgeons performed major vascular and endovascular surgeries on 2,261 patients, including over 350 aortic aneurysm repairs, 200 carotid artery interventions, and 300 reconstructive procedures for lower extremity arterial disease. As contributors to one of the leading investigative centers in the nation, our vascular surgery specialists have often been directly involved with developing or refining the procedures they perform. For example, Dr. Elliot Chaikof, the current chief of the Vascular Surgery department, established the first Emory program for endovascular aortic aneurysm repair in 1992. Treatment specialties offered by the division include:

• Angioplasty
• Carotid endarterectomy
• Drug therapy
• Endovascular stent-grafts and catheters, which were pioneered at Emory in the 1970s
• Gene and endovascular therapy
• Pressure sensor implantation for monitoring aortic aneurysm after repair (video of the procedure below)
• Sclerotherapy for spider veins
• Endolaser ablation for varicose veins (video of the procedure below)
• Surgery for dialysis access
• Diagnostic services performed at the Emory Non-Invasive Vascular Laboratory, including carotid duplex ultrasound imaging; AV fistula, bypass graft, and upper and lower venous studies; and segmental pressures and waveforms for upper and lower arterial studies. If ordered by vascular physicians, computed tomography angiography and magnetic resonance angiography are done at the Department of Radiology.

VIDEOS
	Endolaser Ablation for Varicose Veins Click on the image to the left to view a CNN spot* on the procedure featuring Emory's vascular service; the RealPlayer plug-in is required to view. * The use of this CNN material is primarily for informational/educational related purposes and does not constitute an implied endorsement by CNN.

For additional information on the Vascular Surgery department's services, history and surgical staff, please explore the side menu to the left of this page.