Tulsa Vascular Care: Why Age is No Longer a Barrier to Treatment

By Andres Guerra, M.D., M.S.
Vascular Surgeon
Saint Francis Heart and Vascular Institute

Vascular Disease Doesn't Have to Mean Major Surgery Anymore

For generations, treating blocked arteries or dangerous aneurysms meant major surgery, long hospital stays and lengthy recoveries. For older or more fragile patients, this often wasn't an option at all. That calculus has changed significantly — and at Saint Francis HVI, patients across eastern Oklahoma now have access to the full range of what modern vascular care makes possible.
 

What Vascular Surgery Treats

Saint Francis HVI surgeons manage all major blood vessels below the skull, treating conditions including:

• Peripheral arterial disease and limb-threatening loss of circulation
• Thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms — dangerous bulges in the body's largest blood vessels
• Venous disease across a full spectrum of severity
• Long-term dialysis access for patients with kidney disease

Many of these conditions are chronic, and vascular care at Saint Francis reflects that reality. Physicians follow patients over the long term, building relationships and adjusting care as needs evolve — with quality of life as the consistent goal.
 

Less Invasive. More Options. Better Outcomes.

One of the most significant advances in vascular care is the rise of endovascular procedures — treatments performed through small punctures in blood vessels rather than open incisions. Many aortic aneurysms that once required major surgery can now be repaired with an endograft, a minimally invasive approach that often allows patients to go home the next day.

For more complex cases, Saint Francis surgeons use hybrid procedures that combine endovascular and open surgical techniques — giving the team multiple options and the flexibility to adapt in real time based on what each patient needs. That flexibility has expanded who can be treated. Patients in their 70s, 80s and even 90s who would not previously have been considered surgical candidates are now receiving effective interventions.

Recently, Saint Francis performed one of the first complex thoracoabdominal endovascular aneurysm repairs in Oklahoma using a customized device — a procedure that would not have been possible just a few years ago.
 

Access to Emerging Technology

As a tertiary referral center, Saint Francis participates in device trials and early-adoption studies, giving patients access to emerging vascular technologies sooner than they might be available elsewhere. 

That commitment to innovation means the options available here continue to expand — and that patients in eastern Oklahoma don't have to travel far to find them.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a vascular condition — or has risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes or a history of smoking — talk to your provider about whether a vascular surgery consultation makes sense. 

The right conversation at the right time can make all the difference.