Department of Surgery Celebrates 85 Years Tradition of Vascular Surgery Excellence

Online, March 14, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Division of Vascular Surgery has a long and proud tradition. For the last 10 years, the chairman of the Department of Surgery has been the distinguished vascular surgeon, Dr. George Todd. During that period of time, the division has undergone significant changes with retention of the nationally recognized Dr. Donna Mendes and addition of Dr. Alan Benvenisty, Dr. John Lantis, and Dr. Larisse Lee. This group of 5 surgeons has spent their entire vascular careers taking care of the population the Upper West Side of Manhattan and the tertiary care population. They have a combined 85-year tradition of vascular surgery excellence.

The most recent developments have been the bi-campus development of a strong endovascular surgical program. Many members of the team spend a significant portion of their time performing minimally invasive vascular surgery procedures. Now in 2011, the patients who once upon a time would have undergone aortic surgery and required five to seven days in the hospital often go home the next day. Many of these patients are back to normal activities within one week when in the past this would have often taken two months. Limb salvage has been improved dramatically with a diminution in amputation rate and improved survival of the patients and a much faster return to functional status with these minimal invasive techniques. The patients who once would require an incision from the groin to the ankle now often go home with only a small puncture site from a needlestick one day after the procedure. Many of these patients do not even require further pain medication.

In the age of carotid stenting, the division has looked at the overall outcome and been intermittently involved in the development of protocols to provide excellent stroke prevention surgery. The data continues to support the surgical intervention of carotid disease. The institution has a longstanding and excellent tradition in minimal complication carotid revascularization. Recently one patient after having his carotid surgery was back to work two days later as an active accountant.

In the last three years, major changes in the outcomes for the patients undergoing venous procedures and thoracic aortic aneurysm procedures have been seen. The Bi-Campus application of endovenous laser therapy and radiofrequency therapy for the treatment of complex venous disease has made the intervention for this problem much more pleasant for the patients many of whom only require approximately a 30-minute procedure prior to going home with no incisions. These patients once would have required a regional or general anesthetic and spend most of the day in the hospital prior to going home with numerous small incisions. The quality of outcomes for these patients is significantly enhanced and the overall comfort with the procedures is dramatically improved.

One of the most morbid vascular surgery procedures that can be undertaken is that of the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms. The St. Luke's-Roosevelt Division of Vascular and Endovascular surgery has treated ruptured and non-ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysms with state of the art stent graft technology. These patients who have undergone thoracic endografts have gone on to leave the hospital doing well, when at one point in time they would have 1 in 5 chance of dying.

Continued investment in technology and teaching allows the faculty and institution to continue to develop the best in vascular and endovascular care while being more personal and individualized than other centers in New York City. We have continued to have a strong commitment to our patients and the neighborhood in addition to our commitment to education and prevention of both simple and complex vascular diseases.