Vascular and Endovascular Surgery

	Stanford Vascular and Endovascular Faculty and Fellows from left to right: Fritz Bech, MD, E. John Harris, MD, Wei Zhou, MD, Jason T. Lee, MD, Division Chief Ronald L. Dalman, MD and Christopher K. Zarins. Seated are Vascular Fellows David Nabi, MD and Tae Song, MD. Faculty not pictured: Cornelius Olcott, MD.

Welcome to Stanford Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. We are dedicated to the highest levels of patient care, professional education and clinical and translational research. For referring physicians, patients and their families, patient scheduling and consultation services can be accessed through these pages. For medical students, surgical residents and practicing vascular surgeons interested in advanced professional training, our site also provides up to date information on the Stanford vascular fellowships as well as upcoming events and educational seminars. For over a decade we have been recognized internationally as one of the premier academic vascular surgery programs, and we continue to strive for improved outcomes and quality of life for patients confronted with complex aortic and peripheral vascular diseases.

Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery

			Current News
			May 2, 2008 - Congratulations to Dr. Ronald L. Dalman who was nominated for the inaugural Stanford Postdoctoral Mentoring Award. May 1, 2008 - Congratulations to Dr. Jason T. Lee who was awarded a Center for Immersive and Simulation-based Learning (CISL) grant for his proposal "The Impact of Simulation, Technology, and Structured Education on Performance, Perceptions and Attitudes of Medical Students in Vascular Surgery." April 22, 2008 - Congratulations to Dr. Fritz Bech who was awarded the SVS Clinical Research Seed Grant for his project "Early identification and treatment of non-maturing arteriovenous fistulas: Effect of a clinical pathway on functional outcome." NEW! March 6, 2008 - We have received approval from the RRC for our integrated 0-5 Vascular Surgery Residency. We anticipate filling the position to start July 1, 2008. Please contact us for more information if you are interested to start this summer at rld@stanford.edu or jtlee@stanford.edu. We will be participating in ERAS this coming winter for the 2009 match. March 5, 2008 - Congratulations to the applicants that have been invited to our fellowship interview dates on Friday April 11 and Wednesday, April 23. Preliminary agendas are available here. December 18, 2007- Attention all 4th year Medical Students and residents interested in the 0+5 Integrated Residency Program, please see instructions for applying here. November 16, 2007 - Attention college students: HHMI Summer Rearch Program information here. October 16, 2007 - Congratulations to Dr. Christopher Zarins who was recently awarded a grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to engineer cardiovascular tissue grafts from human embryonic stem cells. September 6, 2007 - Dr. Fritz Bech recently joined our faculty as an Assistant Professor of Surgery. August 7, 2007 - We would like to welcome Dr. Wei Zhou to our faculty as an Associate Professor of Surgery. August 2, 2007 - Dr. Jason T. Lee is featured in a press release on the Society for Vascular Surgery website on carotid endarterectomy. August 2, 2007 - Stanford Biodesign Program information session will be Tuesday, September 4th, from 3:00 - 5:00pm in the Medical Center's Bing Dining Room. July 31, 2007- Integrated 5-year Vascular Surgery Residency is under review by the ACGME and Surgery RRC. More information can be found on our Fellowship/Residency pages. ARCHIVES

The Vascular Center and the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery were founded in 1993. Since then the Division has grown to include interdisciplinary clinical teaching and research programs with close interaction among faculty, community vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, podiatrists, rehabilitation specialists, basic scientists, engineers and computer scientists. These unique collaborations have promoted remarkable academic and clinical productivity involving new and dramatically improved techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease. Daily interactions between these diverse specialists have gained the Division national and international recognition as a Center of Excellence.

Faculty

The faculty is distinguished by expertise in many aspects of vascular disease management, but perhaps none more so than aortic aneurysm disease. Stanford Vascular  Surgeons are recognized around the world as leaders in aortic aneurysm treatment and research. Dr. Ronald Dalman is the Director and Principal Investigator of Stanford’s National Institutes of Heath (NIH) Specialized Center of Clinically Oriented Research (SCCOR) Program Project Grant focused on identifying novel treatment strategies and biomarkers for early aortic aneurysm disease. Dr. Christopher Zarins also serves as Principal Investigator on NIH grants focused on aortic disease and is widely recognized for his early and substantial contributions to the development of minimally invasive treatment solutions for abdominal and thoracic aneurysms. Vascular Center members R. Scott Mitchell MD and D. Craig Miller MD have extensive experience in the management of complex thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, as well as aortic dissections and related major aortic diseases including Marfan’s Syndrome. Together these surgeons have the greatest accumulated experience in major aortic disease management in the western United States. We have expertise with all FDA-approved devices for minimally invasive management of thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) as well as unique access to custom and investigational devices for particularly challenging clinical problems.

In the area of lower extremity limb salvage, claudication (leg pain, heaviness or weakness with walking) and diabetic foot related complications, Drs. Dalman and E. John Harris Jr. MD bring 30 years combined experience in the management of complex clinical conditions, as well as advanced skills in catheter-based, minimally invasive revascularization techniques. We participate in many new device and drug trials to provide additional options for challenging patients facing potential limb loss. We also recommend early consultation in the setting of co-existing diabetes mellitus or significant reductions in walking ability or exercise tolerance.

Dr. Cornelius Olcott is an expert in the complications and management of thoracic outlet syndrome as well as acute and chronicarterial injuries in high performance athletes. Dr. Jason T. Lee focuses on advanced endovascular interventions including clinical research trials involving carotid angioplasty/stenting, peripheral atherectomy, and next-generation devices for management of aortic aneurysm disease. Dr. Lee also is also developing a curriculum that includes the use of an endovascular simulator purchased in the recently opened Goodman Simulation Center within the Department of Surgery to broaden the education of our vascular fellows, surgical residents, and medical students. Dr. Wei Zhou recently joined the faculty and her major clinical focuses are advanced endovascular therapy, complex aortic pathology, percutaneous carotid and lower extremity interventions. Dr. Zhou's research interests are vascular sclerosis, intimal hyperplasia and restenosis.

Our faculty have been recognized by their peers as thought leaders in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and have presented their research and clinical opinions at meetings across the United States including the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), Western Vascular Society, the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society, the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery, the Society of Clinical Vascular Surgery, the American Surgical Association, the Society of University Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, Surgical Forum, the American Heart Association, and the American Venous Forum as well as in international forums around the world. These presentations may be reviewed in the individual faculty pages.

Clinical Program

The clinical volume of the Division continues to grow on an annual basis. We provide expert diagnostic evaluation of problems with arterial and venous blood flow in the lower extremities, problems with walking or wound healing related to reduced blood flow (claudication or limb salvage). We have internationally recognized expertise in the diagnosis and management of aneurysmal or occlusive disease of the thoracic or abdominal aorta or both, in addition to peripheral aneurysms and aortic dissections. We are particularly interested in providing solutions for failed prior attempts at endovascular aneurysm exclusion or revisions of previously placed endografts. We also possess expertise in the management of cerebrovascular disease including the prevention and treatment of strokes or transient ischemic attacks for both primary and recurrent lesions. We provide both open and catheter-based (angioplasty and stenting) treatment for carotid disease to ensure that each patient receives the procedure that assures them of the best overall outcome. We also have special expertise in the multi-modality management of venous insufficiency and thoracic outlet syndromes. The Division performs over 900 operative vascular procedures each year, is supported by a fully ICAVL-accredited Diagnostic Vascular Laboratory performing over 3000 non-invasive peripheral vascular exams annually, and provides training for vascular fellows whose case volume routinely exceeds the 90% for total operative experience nationwide.

Teaching Program

The Division sponsors an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education/Surgery Residency Review Committee approved Vascular Fellowship Program that most recently received full 5 year re-accreditation in 2004. Our Vascular Fellowship Program is a two year program that provides over 400 complex open operative cases the first year, with signficant exposure to open and endovascular aneurysm exclusion procedures. The second year provides hundreds more endovascular interventions for both aneurysmal and occlusive arterial and venous disease. Our program is committed to the training and development of next generation leaders in American Vascular Surgery. Recent program graduates have established successful academic careers at major universities across the United States including Columbia/Cornell, UC Davis, University of Florida, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and UCLA. We provide diverse educational experiences at 4 affiliated institutions including Stanford University Medical Center, the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center and O’Connor Medical Center in San Jose.

Research Program

The Division’s research laboratories are located in the new Clark Center and are an integral part of the Stanford Bio-X Program, which joins together interdisciplinary basic research programs intersecting with clinical research.

In summary, our mission is to provide a model of clinical and scientific excellence in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular diseases, to deliver the highest quality of care to our patients by a team of dedicated surgeons and nurses, and to achieve these goals within an environment that fosters compassion and respects the humanity of the individual person.