CLEVELAND — Save a limb. Save a life.
A major investment in research, education, and clinical care is coming to University Hospitals, intended to help pioneer the field of limb preservation.
We've been following this groundbreaking medical treatment for years.
I sat down with Dr. Mehdi Shishehbor, who has been leading the effort.
“This is 26 years of dreaming,” he said.
This investment was made possible by a $5,000,000 gift from Lorraine and Bill Dodero. That money will be used to establish a limb preservation center at the Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute.
The goal is to revolutionize care for patients at risk of losing a limb due to peripheral artery disease.
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Shishehbor knows how important that care can be.
“I can tell you that I’ve had a number of times in my career of 25, 26 years where patients have told me they would rather die than get an amputation,” he told me.
The idea is to provide collective care for the patient through collaboration with leading experts focused on the overall health of the patient to bring about better results and possibly avoid amputation. The doctor told me, almost half of all patients with end stage peripheral artery disease will die within 2 years of amputation.
“There are not too many other things in life that are more gratifying than saving a patient’s limb and give them a chance to live their life,” Shishehbor said.
Another goal of the collaboration is to bring an annual symposium to UH, where the best ideas from around the world can be shared.
