A pioneering unit that unites two competing factions of doctors is expected to reduce the number of patients undergoing open surgery.
The west London vascular and interventional centre will increase “minimally invasive” procedures to unblock veins and arteries, resulting in lower risk, quicker recovery, shorter hospital stays and cost-savings for the NHS.
This could transform care in an area where high rates of diabetes, smoking, obesity and high blood pressure cause vascular disease.
One of its first patients had her foot saved from amputation as doctors threaded wires and balloons through blocked arteries to restore the blood supply.
Mother-of-two May Gerald, 58, had already lost four toes in her left foot from peripheral arterial disease.
She said: “I was really frightened I was going to lose my leg above the knee because I have two relatives who lost their lower legs to amputation through diabetes.”
Dr Lorenzo Patrone, a vascular and interventional radiologist, said: “We entered the artery through a small puncture wound but it was incredibly difficult to navigate as the vessels had been reduced to a diameter of 2mm.
“The patient would have lost her lower leg eventually so it was a case of painstakingly probing and rerouting until we could navigate an alternate passage which reconnected the blood supply to her entire foot.”
The centre, in Northwick Park hospital, Harrow, brings together vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists — who have a decades-old rivalry and often compete for the same patients.
The joint team, believed to be an NHS first, ensures patients receive the most suitable care based on their need rather than the skills of the doctor.
Professor Martin Malina, who oversaw the launch, said there would always be a need for open vascular surgery but it was likely to be limited to the most complex cases.
He added: “What we are trying to enhance is a unit where colleagues work so closely together that radiologists do a lot of the work traditionally done by surgeons, and vice versa … we will create a new breed of vascular specialist.”
