Methodist to broadcast six live cases to the Vascular Interventional Advances (VIVA) 2009 conference in Las Vegas

Houston - 10/16/2009 -

Dr. Alan Lumsden, medical director of the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston, will broadcast six live cases from The Methodist Hospital’s operating rooms and catheterizations laboratories directly to vascular surgeons and cardiologists at the Vascular Interventional Advances (VIVA) 2009 conference in Las Vegas on Oct. 20, 2009.

As part of a training and education seminar at the conference, Lumsden and his colleagues will perform carotid stenting and will treat aneurysms and peripheral vascular disease, demonstrating the use of some of the most advanced new technology available in the U.S. for these procedures.

Peripheral vascular disease in particular is on the rise in the U.S. It is a disease that is challenging to treat because it is associated with co-morbidities including diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

Lumsden, who is also chair of the department of cardiovascular surgery at The Methodist Hospital, is a renowned expert on new, minimally invasive treatments for vascular disease, and has been involved in many of the clinical trials that helped secure FDA approval for these treatments.

For more information about the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, see www.debakeyheartcenter.com.