An angiologist is a doctor who diagnoses and treats all kinds of vascular disease. This specialist provides conservative treatment for the vessels of the whole body: veins, arteries and lymphatic vessels. An angio-phlebologist deals with the vessels of the lower limbs, while a vascular surgeon operates on vessels throughout the body.

Vascular diseases treated by an angiologist:

  • Varicose veins — this condition causes the vessel walls in the legs to widen and become deformed, which interferes with the normal functioning of the veins.
  • Atherosclerosis — a chronic disease in which fatty and cholesterol plaques build up on the inner walls of the blood vessels.
  • Aneurysm — in an aneurysm, the wall of a cardiac artery bulges outwards because it has become too thin and stretched. This creates an aneurysm sac that compresses the surrounding tissue.
  • Phlebitis — inflammation of the vein wall with its gradual destruction; it can be acute or chronic. The main danger of the condition is a high risk of blood clots forming and the vessel becoming completely blocked.
  • Thrombophlebitis — inflammation caused by varicose veins. If left untreated, the inflammation spreads to the deep veins, and the risk of blood clots travelling through the bloodstream increases.
  • Phlebothrombosis — the primary formation of a blood clot in the deep vessels of the legs; the vein is blocked by the clot, but there is no inflammation.
  • Haemangiomas — benign vascular tumours that occur mainly in children, more often in girls. One type is lymphangioma, a benign tumour of the lymphatic system.

Vascular diagnostics in Switzerland include:

  • Angiography;
  • Doppler ultrasound of the veins;
  • CT angiography;
  • Duplex sonography;
  • MRI;
  • Oscillography;
  • Ultrasound of the veins and arteries.

The aim of angiology in Switzerland is to treat vascular diseases and prevent limb amputation.

Doctors diagnose and treat conditions such as Raynaud’s syndrome, inflammation of the blood vessels and the effects of diabetes.

The treatment programme is drawn up individually after a consultation with a doctor.