Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which vascular diseases involving the arteries, veins, or lymphatic vessels, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolved from general and cardiovascular surgery where it refined the management of just the vessels, no longer treating the heart or other organs. Modern vascular surgery includes open surgery techniques, endovascular techniques and medical management of vascular diseases - unlike the parent specialities. The vascular surgeon is trained in the diagnosis and management of diseases affecting all parts of the vascular system excluding the coronaries and intracranial vasculature. Vascular surgeons also are called to assist other physicians to carry out surgery near vessels, or to salvage vascular injuries that include hemorrhage control, dissection, occlusion or simply for safe exposure of vascular structures.
Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is a type of minimally-invasive endovascular surgery used to treat pathology of the aorta, most commonly an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). When used to treat thoracic aortic disease, the procedure is then specifically termed TEVAR for "thoracic endovascular aortic/aneurysm repair." EVAR involves the placement of an expandable stent graft within the aorta to treat aortic disease without operating directly on the aorta. In 2003, EVAR surpassed open aortic surgery as the most common technique for repair of AAA, and in 2010, EVAR accounted for 78% of all intact AAA repair in the United States.
Michael L. Marin is an American vascular surgeon. Together with Drs. Frank Veith, Juan C. Parodi and Claudio J. Schonholz, he was the first in the United States to perform minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery. In 2004, he was the first doctor to implant an intravascular telemetric monitor -- a device that alerts to physicians any leakage in aortic stent-grafts.
Randall Bertram Griepp was an American cardiothoracic surgeon who collaborated with Norman Shumway in the development of the first successful heart transplant procedures in the U.S. He had an international reputation for contributions to the surgical treatment of aortic aneurysms and aortic dissection and in heart and lung transplantations. He received nearly $8 million in grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Peter Lin is an American vascular surgeon, medical researcher, specializing in minimally invasive endovascular treatment of vascular disease. He has published extensively in the area of vascular surgery and endovascular surgery.
Surgical Outcomes Analysis & Research, SOAR, is a research laboratory of the Department of Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center with expertise in outcomes research. SOAR investigates surgical diseases and perioperative outcomes. The group focuses on pancreatic cancer, other gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary malignancies, vascular disease, and transplant surgery. SOAR's goal is to examine quality, delivery, and financing of care in order to have an immediate impact on patient care and system improvements. The group members utilize national health services and administrative databases, as well as institutional databases, to investigate and to address factors contributing to disease outcomes and healthcare disparities.
Robert E. Michler is an American heart surgeon specializing in heart surgery, aortic and mitral valve repair, coronary artery bypass surgery, aneurysm surgery, and management of the failing heart. In 2017, Michler received the Vladimir Borakovsky Prize in Moscow from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation for “his personal contributions to the development of cardiovascular surgery”.
Artivion, Inc. is a distributor of cryogenically preserved human tissues for cardiac and vascular transplant applications and develops medical devices. Among its products are human heart valves, which are treated to remove excess cellular material and antigens, and BioGlue surgical adhesive.
Kenneth Ouriel is a vascular surgeon and medical researcher. He has published in scientific and medical journals. He treated former presidential candidate Bob Dole for an abdominal aortic aneurysm in 2001. In the middle 2000s, Ouriel went to Dubai as CEO to help build a world-class hospital; he treated several Middle Eastern rulers in addition to his administrative duties. In 2009, he was senior vice president and chief of international operations at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. He has been described as one of America's top vascular surgeons.
Lars Georg Svensson is a cardiac surgeon and the chairman of the heart and vascular institute at Cleveland Clinic. He is the Director of the Aorta Center, Director of the Marfan Syndrome and Connective Tissue Disorder Clinic, and is a professor of surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University. He is also the Director of Quality Outcomes and Process Improvement for the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Affiliate Cardiac Surgery Program at Cleveland Clinic.
Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center is a hospital with 180 private patient rooms and serves patients in Montgomery, Prince George's, and surrounding counties.
Open aortic surgery (OAS), also known as open aortic repair (OAR), describes a technique whereby an abdominal, thoracic or retroperitoneal surgical incision is used to visualize and control the aorta for purposes of treatment, usually by the replacement of the affected segment with a prosthetic graft. OAS is used to treat aneurysms of the abdominal and thoracic aorta, aortic dissection, acute aortic syndrome, and aortic ruptures. Aortobifemoral bypass is also used to treat atherosclerotic disease of the abdominal aorta below the level of the renal arteries. In 2003, OAS was surpassed by endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) as the most common technique for repairing abdominal aortic aneurysms in the United States.
Juan Carlos Parodi is an Argentinian vascular surgeon who introduced the minimally invasive endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) to the world and performed the first successful endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm on 7 September 1990 in Buenos Aires. In 1992 he was the first in the United States to perform minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery together with Drs. Frank Veith, Michael L. Marin and Claudio J. Schonholz. He continues to develop new techniques, including seat belt and air bag technique for cerebral protection during carotid stenting. He is recognized as a renowned pioneer in the specialty of endovascular repairs of the aorta.
Claudio J. Schonholz is an interventional radiologist, the first in the United States to perform minimally invasive aortic aneurysm surgery together with Drs. Frank Veith, Juan C. Parodi and Michael L. Marin.
Endovascular and hybrid trauma and bleeding management is a new and rapidly evolving concept within medical healthcare and endovascular resuscitation. It involves early multidisciplinary evaluation and management of hemodynamically unstable patients with traumatic injuries as well as being a bridge to definitive treatment. It has recently been shown that the EVTM concept may also be applied to non-traumatic hemodynamically unstable patients.
Charles Granville Rob was a British surgeon who pioneered techniques in the repair of damaged blood vessels, particularly the operation to unblock arteries of the neck, known as carotid endarterectomy and of the aorta when treating aortic aneurysms.
Nicolai Leontievich Volodos ; was a Soviet and Ukrainian cardiovascular surgeon and scientist. An innovator, Volodos developed and introduced into clinical practice the world's first endovascular stent graft for the treatment of stenotic and aneurysmal diseases of arterial system. Volodos was described by his colleagues as ”a pioneer innovator and a giant in vascular and endovascular surgery” and ”a giant of historic proportions in the vascular and endovascular specialties, and the father of endovascular grafting”.
Hazim J. Safi, MD, FACS, is a physician and surgeon who is well-known for his research in the surgical treatment of aortic disease. Safi and his colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine were the first to identify variables associated with early death and postoperative complications in patients undergoing thoracoabdominal aortic operations. Safi now serves as professor of cardiothoracic surgery, and founding chair at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, TX.
Gustavo S. Oderich is a Brazilian American vascular and endovascular surgeon who serves as a professor and chief of vascular and endovascular surgery, and is the director of the Advanced Endovascular Aortic Program at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Memorial Hermann Health System. He previously served as chair of vascular and endovascular division at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Oderich is recognized for his work in minimally invasive endovascular surgery and research in fenestrated and branched stent-graft technology to treat complex aortic aneurysms and dissections.
Benjamin Starnes is a vascular surgeon and medical researcher. He holds the Alexander Whitehill Clowes Endowed Chair in Vascular surgery at the University of Washington. He served as a U.S. Army surgeon for 15 years, doing three tours of duty, including in the last M.A.S.H. unit. On the day of the September 11 attacks he was at the Pentagon rendering medical aid to victims, and his experience was later recounted in the book American Phoenix: Heroes of the Pentagon on 9/11. He is among the primary authors of the official guidelines for diagnosis and management of aortic disease adopted by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.
