“What are the risks involved in vascular surgery?”
My mother is 72 years old and is going to have vascular surgery in a few weeks. She has diabetes, as well as high blood pressure. The doctor has only spoken to her about the risks associated with the surgery, so I'm just wondering what I should expect and what the actual risks are.
5 Answers
It depends if type of surgery: aorta, carotid or extremity surgeries. They have different risks and complications.
Hello. Every surgery has it down unique risks in addition to anesthesia risks which depend on the length of surgery and underlying medical condition of the patient. What particular surgery is your mother having?
It depends what type of surgery she is having. Most people with vascular surgery have diabetes and high blood pressure and some degree of heart disease. Other than the risks of the surgery including infection and the procedure not working would be the risk of a heart attack or less likely a stroke. These risks are surprisingly low but are true risks.
The general risks to vascular surgery are the same for other types of surgery. Every time you incise the skin, there is a risk of bleeding and infection. Antibiotics are given to prevent the infection and your vascular surgeon is responsible for the bleeding. Unfortunately, diabetics are slightly more at risk for infection. The risks of the surgery are specific to the surgery itself. Almost all vascular surgery patients have some evidence of heart disease. Some sort of cardiac workup is usually done to evaluate the risk of having a heart attack during surgery. Vascular surgery is usually done when there is some evidence of under perfusion of a part of the body and the risk of a cardiac complication needs to be balanced with the possibility of losing a limb or having a stroke.
It all depends on her heart and lungs. The risks of vascular surgery are primarily heart attack. Bad lung disease is difficult to manage. Most patients getting vascular surgery have diabetes. The risks are real, so just make sure she really needs the operation.
