Take heart: Smaller incisions in vascular surgery mean shorter recovery.
Every February, American Heart Month reminds us to consider heart disease and how to prevent it (and so might the ubiquitous red valentines). But caring for your ticker goes beyond just the heart muscle — it’s also about keeping all the connected blood vessels just as healthy.
“Without healthy blood vessels, you can’t have a healthy heart and vice versa,” says Jeremy Irvan, MD, a vascular surgeon at Geisinger. “When we live a heart-healthy lifestyle, we’re not only reducing our risk for heart disease, but also heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms and more.”
So, take your health to heart this February by talking to your doctor about routine vascular screenings. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity or other vascular disease risk factors, preventive screenings can save your life.
Advanced vascular care close to home
Your blood vessels — veins, which carry blood to your heart, and arteries, which carry blood to the rest of your body — can have a variety of conditions, from common to complex. Some we consider unsightly or uncomfortable, like varicose veins and spider veins. More serious conditions include peripheral artery disease, stroke, blood clots and aneurysms.
Central and northeastern Pennsylvanians can find world-class care for all these conditions from Geisinger’s vascular surgeons, who are trained in the latest technology, diagnostic testing and treatments for vascular conditions. Whenever possible, they use minimally invasive surgery, such as robotic and image-guided techniques.
“For the patient, this means smaller incisions, shorter hospital stays and recovery times with a reduced risk of complications,” says Dr. Irvan. “Some marks left behind are no bigger than you’d see from a simple IV placement.”
He points to one advanced procedure called transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR) that he’s been performing on patients since 2018. TCAR is a stenting procedure to improve blood flow to the brain and prevent a stroke. But it offers a key advantage over traditional stenting by reversing blood flow across the blockage, decreasing the risk of a piece of plaque breaking off, which could cause a stroke.
“TCAR is a new way to deploy a stent for someone who has carotid narrowing and a risk for stroke,” says Dr. Irvan. “The ‘gold standard’ open surgery to remove plaque from the carotid artery is known as endarterectomy. But studies have shown TCAR is approaching equivalent outcomes with endarterectomy. That’s profound.”
Easy recovery from vascular surgery
Centre County resident Rob Brown recently had TCAR to open up a narrowing in his carotid artery. A local hospital had referred Mr. Brown to Dr. Irvan after doctors discovered the blockage while treating him for a minor stroke — because Geisinger is the only healthcare system in the region with the facilities and expertise to do the procedure.
Dr. Irvan made a small incision above Mr. Brown’s collarbone to place the stent, using only local anesthetic. And because Mr. Brown chose to be awake during the procedure, he had a remarkable recovery and great outcome.
“As soon as the procedure was finished, I was done and ready to go,” says the 77-year-old retired social studies teacher. “The recovery was so easy. The care I received was top of the line.”
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