The Rutgers Health Peripheral Arterial Disease program evaluates and treats patients with severe peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Our physicians and specialists provide comprehensive management and surgery for vascular conditions. The outstanding care we provide, along with life-changing surgical techniques, translates into limb salvage rates that are among the best of similar programs throughout the United States. We often receive requests to perform limb salvage procedures on patients who may not be able to receive the latest treatments from other hospitals and surgeons.

The treatments and services we offer include:

• Endovascular expertise
• Leading-edge imaging centers
• Medical and cardiac consultation services
• Noninvasive vascular laboratory for testing

Peripheral arterial disease is mainly the result of atherosclerosis, a narrowing of arteries due to buildup of plaque, also known as “hardening of the arteries.” Major risk factors include smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Patients with PAD have leg pain when walking (claudication). They can also develop pain at rest, ulcerations of the skin, and gangrene. When medical management of the disease fails, a person may require revascularization (the restoration of circulation to a body part or organ that is suffering a shortage of oxygen) for relief.

We perform revascularization in elective and emergency situations with open surgical and minimally invasive techniques. Our use of endovascular treatments for PAD, such as angioplasty, stenting, and atherectomy, are most common. Minimally invasive technology for PAD helps us treat patients with advanced disease with few complications, as well as shorter hospital stays and recovery time.

Physicians who serve the Rutgers Health Peripheral Arterial Disease program are on the faculty of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, a part of Rutgers University, one of the top research institutions in America. Our doctors are active in research and teach about all aspects of PAD and vascular medicine. Each brings leading-edge knowledge from the classroom to the exam room.

If you or a loved one is in need of treatment for severe peripheral arterial disease and/or may be in danger of losing a limb, make an appointment with the Rutgers Health Peripheral Arterial Disease program.