Department of Interventional Radiology Hosts Evolution Miami 2019, Showcasing New Therapies

Advances in minimally invasive therapies were showcased at Evolution Miami 2019, a three-day CME conference organized and hosted by the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Interventional Radiology.

“We brought together Miller School and guest faculty from seven different specialties for a truly multidisciplinary meeting,” said Shivank Bhatia, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Interventional Radiology, and co-course director for the November 15-17 conference at the Intercontinental Miami.  “Our focus was on how image-guided interventions address different types of common disease processes, including prostate artery embolization for BPH, critical limb ischemia, percutaneous dialysis fistula creation, geniculate artery embolization for osteoarthritis of the knee, deep venous disease, acute stroke, and spine disorders and treatments.”

Dr. Dipen J. Parekh speaks at Evolution Miami.

The department’s first annual continuing medical education conference drew more than 255 attendees and 51 speakers from the United States and Europe and was live streamed throughout the U.S. The meeting was supported by 23 companies that demonstrated their devices and provided educational grants for fellows and trainees.

“Our conference included lectures, panel discussions, case presentations and demonstrations of new devices,” said co-course director Srini Tummala, M.D., assistant professor of clinical interventional radiology and a national expert in vascular disease and amputation prevention. “We wanted to provide an update on these disease processes for both academic and community physicians who want practical advice and guidance on rapidly evolving treatments.”

Vascular disease-related presentations including critical limb ischemia and dialysis fistula creation took center stage on the first day of the conference. In these sessions, nationally renowned multi-specialty speakers from across the U.S. presented data, techniques, and practical tips to treat peripheral artery disease and critical limb ischemia.

In one of the groundbreaking sessions, experts presented work on creating a percutaneous dialysis fistula for patients with failing kidneys. “Instead of surgery to create a conduit from an artery to a vein, we can now create a dialysis fistula in less than an hour with no surgical incisions and with the patient under moderate conscious sedation,” said Dr. Tummala.

The second day of Evolution Miami covered advancements in the field of embolotherapy. Guest faculty from Portugal, Brazil, and the United States joined colleagues from the Miller School in presentations on prostate artery embolization (PAE) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

“The FDA has approved PAE for enlarged prostate glands, and this nonsurgical technique has shown excellent short and midterm results,” said Dr. Bhatia, who is one of the global leaders in this field.  Later in the day, several Miller School urologists discussed the role of PAE in treating BPH cases in a multidisciplinary tumor board.

Another session dealt with geniculate artery embolization (GAE) for the treatment of pain caused by osteoarthritis. Speakers included interventional radiologists from Royal Berkshire Hospital in the United Kingdom, UCLA, and the Miller School. “We plan to study this treatment in a clinical trial setting at UM soon,” said Dr. Bhatia.

On the conference’s third day, faculty from orthopedics, neurosurgery, neurology, and interventional radiology looked at advancements in treating acute stroke and spinal diseases and disorders.  Presentations included acute stroke management strategies, interventional spinal therapies, and emerging techniques and therapies.

Other Miller School faculty members participating in Evolution Miami 2019 included:

• Motasem A. Al Maaieh, M.D., Department of Orthopaedics
• Jose Almeida, M.D., Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery
• Jaime Carvajal Alba, M.D., Department of Orthopaedics
• Ivan Chaitowitz, M.D., Department of Interventional Radiology
• Mauricio Juan Cuellar, M.D., Division of Nephrology
• Issam M. Kably, M.D., Department of Interventional Radiology
• Lindsay Karr-Thornton, M.D., Department of Interventional Radiology
• Bruce R. Kava, M.D., M.S.-C.T.I., Department of Urology
• Andres Krauthamer, M.D., Department of Interventional Radiology
• Zoe Miller, M.D., Department of Interventional Radiology
• Prasoon Mohan, M.D., Department of Interventional Radiology
• Eric C. Peterson, M.D., Department of Neurological Surgery
• Sanoj Punnen, M.D., Department of Urology
• Hemendra N. Shah, M.D., Department of Urology
• Dileep Yavagal, M.D., Interventional/Stroke Division, Department of Neurology

Tags: Department of Interventional Radiology, Dr. Shivank Bhatia, Evolution Miami 2019