Vascular surgery is surgery to treat disorders and diseases of the vascular system. A vascular surgeon performs surgery on patients with diseases, disorders, or inflammation of the veins and arteries. These diseases of the blood vessels can include vasculitis, aneurysms, ischemia, thrombosis, varicose veins, and immune system abnormalities.

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are Vascular Problems, varicose veins, Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), Peripheral Arterial Disease, pulmonary embolism, retinopathy, Renal Artery Disease, Mesenteric ischemia, Venous disease, Stasis dermatitis, Carotid Artery Disease, cerebrovascular disease, Varicosities, Arteriosclerosis of the extremities, Carotid Endarterectomies, Chronic limb ischemia, Arterial and Femoral Endarterectomies, Acute limb ischemia, abdominal Aortic Aneurysms, and Arterial diseases.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including vascular surgery, arterial surgery, venous surgery, and deep vein surgery.

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), Echocardiogram, angiography, Photoplethysmography (PPG), Transcranial Doppler (TCD), Doppler Ultrasound, duplex scan, Doppler arterial exams, Noninvasive lab testing, Inferior vena cava scan, Vein mapping, Duplex ultrasound scan, Exercise testing for claudication, and Artery mapping.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Indiana has 96 practicing vascular surgeons. Broken out by city, vascular surgery doctor density in Avon is 2, in Beech Grove is 1, in Bloomington is 5, in Boonville is 1, in Carmel is 8, in Chesterton is 1, in Clinton is 1, in Columbus is 2, in East Chicago is 2, in Elkhart is 6, in Evansville is 6, in Fort Wayne is 4, in Goshen is 2, in Hammond is 1, in Indianapolis is 40, in Kokomo is 2, in La Porte is 6, in Lafayette is 2, in Marion is 1, in Martinsville is 1, in Merrillville is 4, in Michigan City is 1, in Mishawaka is 1, in Munster is 1, in New Albany is 4, in Newburgh is 1, in Plymouth is 3, in Princeton is 1, in Richmond is 2, in Seymour is 2, in South Bend is 8, in Tell City is 6, in Terre Haute is 8, and in Vincennes is 1.

Indiana’s population is 6,271,973, and most of the state’s population is located in the north, near the Lake Michigan shoreline, and is part of the greater metro Chicago area. Indiana became a state in 1816, and boasts many historical sites and covered bridges, numerous state parks and forests, hunting and fishing, and a variety of golf courses. Centrally located Indianapolis is home to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hosting the world-famous 500-mile auto race every year. This capital and largest city of Indiana also hosts a Civil War museum, a planetarium, and the Indiana Historical Society, among many other attractions.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Indiana has a population of 6,271,973. Of this population, 1,566,280 are under the age of 18 and 774,303 are at or above the age of 65.