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. Alabama has 67 practicing vascular surgeons. Broken out by city, vascular surgery doctor density in Alexander City is 1, in Anniston is 2, in Bessemer is 3, in Birmingham is 24, in Cullman is 2, in Decatur is 1, in Dothan is 1, in Florence is 1, in Foley is 1, in Fort Payne is 1, in Gadsden is 5, in Hamilton is 1, in Huntsville is 8, in Mobile is 8, in Montgomery is 5, in Phenix City is 1, in Sheffield is 1, in Sylacauga is 1, in Tallassee is 1, in Tuscaloosa is 2, in Vestavia is 2, in Vestavia Hills is 2, and in Winfield is 2.

Montgomery is the capital city of this southern state, though Birmingham is its largest city. Population in 2005 was 4,557,808. Alabama is the birthplace of historical figures Hank Aaron, Helen Keller, and George Washington Carver. Take an airboat tour on the Mobile river delta, see the Alabama Civil Rights museum in Mantua, or tour the Jazz Hall of Fame in Birmingham. Visit the Shakespeare Festival Theater Complex in Montgomery, or play a round of golf at one of Alabama’s many acclaimed courses. From the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in the state’s north to the Gulf coast beaches in the south, Alabama’s scenery includes a varied and diverse landscape.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Alabama has a population of 4,557,808. Of this population, 1,074,627 are under the age of 18 and 600,258 are at or above the age of 65.