Vascular surgery is a specialty of surgery in which diseases of the blood vessels(arteries and veins,) are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures, and surgical reconstruction.The Cardiovascular surgeon is trained in the diagnosis and management of diseases affecting all parts of the vascular system. The word "Vascular disease" includes problems related to both arteries and veins which are blood vessels in the body. The number of people suffering from vascular diseases in India is high. Few people know that the disease that causes heart attacks can also occur in the Legs (leg attack or gangrene) and in the brain (Brain attack or stroke) and should be dealt with immediately with extreme urgency to prevent amputation or full stroke.

People, who smoke, have raised blood pressure or are diabetic, are particularly at risk of developing these diseases. This can also run in families. The basic problem is a progressive narrowing of the blood vessels (arteries) due to deposition of fatty materials (cholesterol) in its wall. This results in a reduced blood supply to the different organs (brain, heart and legs). The symptoms of a Leg Attack include, pain in calf and thigh muscles on walking which typically subsides on stopping only to come back when one starts walking again. Non-healing painful ulcers on the foot and blackening of toes or gangrene. These changes could lead to amputation of the limb.

'The symptoms of a Brain Attack include painless loss of vision in one eye that recovers in a few minutes. Weakness of a limb or half side of the body which recovers partially or wholly within minutes or hours. Tingling and numbness in the fingers or one of the hands, may also be symptom. The most extreme situation is a complete and unrecoverable loss of function (paralysis) of one side of the body. This is a stroke, which is a permanent loss of function and our attempts are to prevent this disability from occurring in patients, who may have the initial warning symptoms. Assessment by a dedicated Peripheral Vascular Specialist which includes a clinical examination along with an ultrasound (Duplex) assessment can help select patients" who have a more severe form of the disease and run the risk of being disabled without some medical help. The next step for these patients is an angiogram or a coloured x-ray. This procedure involves puncturing an artery in the body under local anesthesia and injecting a coloured dye, to see where the arteries are blocked and what can be done to treat them.