OPERATION
Doctors from throughout the country are taking part in a newly formed endovascular surgery fellowship at Texas Tech, being trained in a treatment that gives patients a shorter recovery time following surgery.
Written by Amy Kiker
Typically, aneurysm surgery is equated with a painful, invasive procedure and months of recovery time. So, for many, the tale of an 87-year-old man having an aneurysm repaired and returning home the following weekend to work in his garden is inconceivable.
Doctors taking part in a newly formed endovascular surgery fellowship at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center are being trained in a treatment that gives patients a shorter recovery time following surgery for vascular ailments and the ability to return home only days after the procedure.
Recently accredited by the Texas State Board of Medicine, the fellowship in endovascular surgery is the first of its kind in the United States. The fellowship allows doctors from across the nation to learn more about the field of endovascular surgery, which is in its infancy.
Michael Silva Jr., M.D., chief vascular surgeon at the Health Sciences Center, helped coordinate the fellowship which is bringing doctors from places such as The Cleveland Clinic and the State University of New York, Stony Brook, to Lubbock.
"This really catapults Texas Tech to the forefront nationally of academic institutions providing a venue for people to train in this field," Silva said. "Ultimately, we will look back and see that Texas Tech was one of the earliest sites responsible for disseminating these new skills throughout the country."
The fellowship offers two positions for doctors wishing to train in endovascular techniques. The first position, which lasts for one year, is geared toward new physicians who plan to complete a training program in vascular surgery and those who have finished a training program and want intensive training in vascular surgery.
The second position lasts for three months and caters to senior vascular surgeons who have been practicing vascular surgery and teaching the techniques at institutions throughout the country.
"We have filled the positions well into the end of this year," Silva said. "The caliber of vascular surgeons who have elected to do this is a testament to the need nationally for this type of program."
Endovascular surgery specializes in treating ailments that normally require invasive treatments through minimally invasive means. The treatment allows patients suffering from ailments such as aortic aneurysms and peripheral arterial disease a much shorter recovery period than they would experience with traditional procedures.
"Endovascular surgery combines the catheter-based skills of the interventional radiologists with the open surgical skills of a vascular surgeon," Silva said.
Mellick Sykes, M.D., professor and chief of vascular surgery at University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, came to Lubbock in December to train in endovascular techniques.
"The impact of this type of training on the treatment of vascular disease nationwide is huge," Sykes said. "This is a unique training opportunity in a great town with a wonderful teacher."
This training program not only provides invaluable training to physicians, but it also allows patients with vascular ailments living in West Texas to take advantage of new procedures offered in their own back yard.
The oldest West Texan to undergo endovascular treatment, an 87-year-old, was able to work in his garden only days after the surgery, and he now walks three miles a day.
"We now are providing state-of-the-art vascular care to West Texans that they could not get if they traveled any number of miles anywhere in the United States," Silva said. "It makes me happy that they don’t have to go somewhere else to have these procedures done."
The potential impact the fellowship will have on the medical community is something that makes those involved in the program very proud.
"It is my goal to have people in every state have some ties to our program here at Texas Tech in the performance of endovascular surgery," Silva said.
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