About Dr. Flanigan:
Dr. Donald Flanigan is a practicing radiologist. He has been in Santa Barbara for 25 years and has performing intervention procedures for that time. He is specifically experienced in the field of ultrasound. He graduated from the Hahnemann Medical College, Phila., interned at Henry Ford hospital in Detroit and was a resident in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN.
He entered the United States Navy as a flight surgeon and was part of the United States Navy, Flight Demonstration Team, the " Blue Angels". He completed his radiology residency at University of Colorado in Denver specializing in ultrasound.
He is particularly excited about this new technique for treating varicose veins. His experience in ultrasound-guided procedures is important for the introduction and placement of catheters for this newly introduced CLOSURE procedure. Varicose veins are almost invariably caused by reflux or the reversal of flow of blood within the veins caused by damage of the veins or other reasons. This backup or the pooling of blood in the veins causes the veins to widen and become non-functional and causes varicose veins. Usually this condition is treated by a surgical procedure termed "vein stripping". This is a hospital procedure performed under general anesthesia where an 2"-3" incision is made in the groin and in the leg. A rod is then placed within the vein and the vein is pulled out. This requires considerable rehabilitation and lost time from work of up to four weeks with pain and discomfort as well as the cost of the hospital and general anesthesia expenses. The CLOSURE procedure, is performed in an outpatient setting with local anesthesia, where a very small incision is placed in the leg where the catheter is introduced. The catheter is then advanced to the upper thigh under ultrasound guidance, where the radio frequency catheter produces heat causing the vein to collapse. The catheter is then slowly pulled back. After the procedure the effectiveness is then tested by Duplex Doppler ultrasound to make sure it is closed. The procedure takes approximately 1 hour and the patient is allowed to go home after that and is encourged to walk. The patient is allowed to go back to work the next day. This procedure is being performed at many sites around the country. Many people are thrilled to have this an alternative to standard vein stripping.
About 25 centers in the United States now have radiologists who perform this technique, according to Dr. Mark Marzano, an interventional radiologist at the Vein Care Associates, in Barrington, Ill. The study findings are scheduled to be published in the Journal of Vascular and Intervention Radiology in the near future.
Dr. Flanigan is a member of the American Society of Phlebology, the Radiologic Society of North America, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound, the Los Angeles Radiologic Society and Tri-County Radiologic Society.
References:
Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2000.
Online at ABC News.com, Boston, March 30th.
Family Circle magazine, Feb. 1 , 2000.
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