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Disruptive technology changed
the course of vascular surgery
A leader in the field, PMCC promotes big ideas and the move toward less-invasive surgeries,
individualized treatments and personalized medicine
By Jennifer Hough
Illustrations by Brent Phillips Vascular surgery was rev- “Every “There is real as clinicians.”
olutionized in the early 1990s, day we are strength in Indeed, the PMCC has a long
when new technology allowed questioning,
surgeons to enter blood vessels ‘How can numbers and history of medical “firsts,” from
and repair aortic aneurysms from we do this expertise. the first clinical use of heparin
within. better?’ We are That’s what as a blood thinner in 1935, to the
encouraged to first pacemaker used in 1950, to
“The advent of minimally- think like that, drew me here – more recently, in 2012, when the
invasive surgery – endovascular and to always the ability and PMCC became the first in the
surgery – whereby we can make be looking world to harvest stem cells from
a small incision in the groin potential to a patient’s bone marrow and
and remotely position an arotic for new be a world- transplant the cells into the heart
stent graft, is the most successful solutions to during bypass surgery.
example of how disruptive the challenges leader in
technology radically changed we face as discovery and “It’s this kind of research that
vascular practice,” says Dr. clinicians.” innovation, sets the groundwork others can
Thomas Lindsay, Division Head and to educate build on, that allows modern
of Vascular Surgery at the Peter Dr. Thomas Lindsay, tomorrow’s cardiac surgery to exist,” Dr.
Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC), Division Head of Vascular Surgery, Lindsay says.
based at Toronto General Hospital leaders.”
and part of Toronto’s University Peter Munk Cardiac Centre Today, the promise of discovery
Health Network (UHN). Dr. Thomas Forbes, is still alive and well.
and science with real-life medical Professor and Chair,
When it comes to treating problems to advance the field. Division of Vascular Surgery, “We have become a little more
abdominal aortic aneurysms, University of Toronto sophisticated and have solved
which makes up the bulk of Dr. According to Dr. Lindsay, some of the bigger problems,
Lindsay’s work, it means an who for 11 years held the Chair are encouraged and nurtured. so now we are looking further
overnight recovery versus six of Vascular Surgery at the “Every day we are questioning, out in developing much better
weeks. University of Toronto, big ideas ‘How can we do this better?’ We
are encouraged to think like that, InsIde the
The technique uses fluorscopic and to always be looking for new vascular system
X-ray imaging in the operating solutions to the challenges we face
room to guide a catheter Responsible for carrying blood
containing a tube of strong fabric to and from all major organs in
with steel stents through the the body, the vascular system is
arteries. Once in place, the stent essentially the plumbing upon
is expanded and seals off the which all systems in the body
aneurysm. rely.
While some more complex cases If the plumbing fails or is
still need open heart surgery, this compromised, major organ
minimally-invasive method is systems are also at risk of failing.
used in the majority of cases.
Vascular surgeons treat
Now, says Dr. Lindsay, the disorders of the blood vessels
challenge for clinicians and outside of the heart and head –
researchers is to individualize mainly blockages in arteries or
treatments and move toward aneurysms, which are enlarged
the same kind of personalized blood vessels most common in
medicine approach being used in the abdominal aorta.
other disciplines.
The Division of Vascular Surgery
At the PMCC, a leading cardiac at Toronto General Hospital is
centre that prides itself on hiring a world-class academic unit
and retaining the best talent, renowned for delivering care to
researchers and clinicians are highly complex cases through
every day trying to marry research advanced diagnostic and surgical
interventions.
Winter 2016 45
