Leading CLI Operators to Gather at the AMPutation Prevention Symposium

J.A. Mustapha, MD

“The AMPutation Prevention Symposium, to take place in Chicago, August 9-12, 2017, is where the world’s leading critical limb ischemia (CLI) operators gather to participate as a community of clinicians. Faculty and attendees include interventional cardiologists, vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, wound care specialists, podiatrists, and more. Each year, the attendees gain a new perspective, and the latest information in revascularization and new techniques to prevention amputations in CLI patients. As the founder and course director of AMP, I am proud to be joined by a team of co-directors who are among the foremost experts in CLI. See what each of them have to say about what makes the AMP meeting unique for attendees.”

George Adams, MD

“AMP focuses specifically on CLI of the lower extremity. It does not include any other vascular beds or other disease states. This conference covers not only the why with current available evidence, but more importantly, it covers the how and when. Several typical live CLI cases and taped cases are displayed.  Additionally, there are multiple hands-on workshops that teach exotic techniques and varying devices.  These workshops allow the operator to experience and practice these techniques while working with multiple devices. AMP is a practical conference that allows operators of differing disciplines to take something home to apply to his or her patient population.”

George Adams, MD, is an interventional cardiologist at Rex Hospital, which is affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and serves as the chair of research for cardiovascular and peripheral vascular research across the University of North Carolina Health System. Dr. Adams is well published in the field of complex peripheral vascular interventions in critical limb ischemic patients. He is considered a master educator in CLI techniques and treatment options. Dr. Adams currently leads a robust clinical research program and is involved with device development for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.

Thomas Davis, MD

“In my mind, AMP has raised the bar on amputation prevention. The faculty are dedicated endovascular limb salvage specialists and attendees are here for the purpose of learning about limb salvage techniques. The hands-on experiences that AMP provides to attendees are important. Most conferences provide lectures. AMP provides experiences that can be brought back to the lab to further limb preservation.”

Thomas Davis, MD, is an interventional cardiologist and the director of St. John’s Hospital Cardiac Cath Lab and research facility in Detroit, Michigan. He has been involved in multiple trials in peripheral vascular disease, including being the national principal investigator of several trials. His research interests and pioneering efforts comprise alternative imaging techniques, including intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography.

Lawrence A. Garcia, MD

“AMP provides a single location where multiple specialties can come together and discuss the growing but significantly diverse patient suffering from critical limb ischemia. At AMP, the opportunities to discuss the simple and the complex in these patients’ treatments, as well as the critical role of data and evidence, as to any outcomes is particularly important.

It is a very useful venue for physicians that seek to acquire the skill sets for treatment of patients with CLI or those interested in learning about the tools needed for these patients’ treatment and revascularization.”

Lawrence A. Garcia, MD, is the chief of the Interventional Cardiology and Vascular Medicine Programs at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Tufts University, in Boston, Massachusetts. He received his training in cardiology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa and trained as an interventional cardiologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston. He received his peripheral vascular training at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center. Dr. Garcia previously served at the Beth Israel Hospital as interventional cardiologist and director of the Peripheral Cardiovascular Program and Peripheral Interventions at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as well as the director of the Interventional Fellowship Program. Widely regarded as an expert in peripheral vascular disease and atherectomy for lower extremity revascularization, Dr. Garcia continues his research in peripheral vascular interventional trials and has served as national and global principal investigator on several trials.

D. Christopher Metzger, MD

“What makes AMP so unique is its obvious focus on CLI, including the live cases that demonstrate the feasibility of treating complex, multi-level, multi-vessel CLI disease, especially those that involve below the knee and below the ankle total occlusions. There is so much to see and learn during these live cases, including the latest technologies available for CLI procedures, along with the latest tips and tricks for successful recanalization. Due to the complexity of CLI revascularization, AMP devotes 60 minutes for each transmitted CLI case. This highlights the obvious need of access, crossing, and therapy delivery, which tends to require a long time to treat than non-CLI patients. We are proud to share with attendees all steps from beginning to end of these complex cases.”

D. Christopher Metzger, MD, FACC,  is a board-certified interventional cardiologist practicing with Cardiovascular Associates, P.C. in Kingsport, Tennessee. This is a 32-member group comprised of cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons. He received his internal medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology training at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Dr. Metzger is the Medical Director of the Cardiac and Peripheral Cath Labs at Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center and is the Medical Director of the Clinical Research Department.

In addition to cardiac interventions, he performs a high volume of all peripheral procedures, including carotid stenting. He is very active in clinical research, being one of the leading enrollers in multiple trials.

Jos C. van den Berg, MD

“This meeting embodies the global approach to CLI treatment. Global in the worldwide sense, given the countries of origin of the distinguished faculty who present at the AMP symposium, but also global in a holistic sense. The treatment of CLI is not being limited to revascularization only, and involves dedicated multidisciplinary teams. At AMP, delegates will be able to get an overview of all aspects of the treatment of patients with CLI, ranging from wound care to optimal medical treatment. There is also the possibility during the various workshops for attendees to get acquainted with ultrasound-guided techniques and receive hands-on training with the latest recanalization tools and techniques. For me, the AMP symposium is filling a long-existing gap in the medical education related to CLI.”

Jos C. van den Berg, MD, is an associate professor of radiology (Privat Dozent) at the Medical Faculty of the University of Bern. He earned his degree from the Medical School of the State University of Leiden, and completed a radiological residency at the St. Radboud University Hospital, Nijmegan, both in the Netherlands. He is an active member of the Dutch Society of Radiology (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Radiologie), European Congress of Radiology (ECR), Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE), and Swiss Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (SSCVIR). He is a corresponding member of Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) and European Society of Radiology (ESR). Dr. van dan Berg’s main research interests include interventional and vascular radiology.

Craig Walker, MD

“The Amputation Prevention Symposium continues its reputation of assembling stellar faculty for the delivery of diverse and comprehensive updates on the treatment and prevention of critical limb ischemia. AMP is a must-attend event for any clinician interested in amputation prevention.”

Craig Walker, MD, FACC, FACA, FACP, FSCAI, FASCI, FCCP, FICA is the founder, president and medical director of the Cardiovascular Institute of the South, a world-renowned practice with approximately 40 physicians and more than 500 team members located in 16 cities through southern Louisiana and Alabama. Dr. Walker also founded a large cardiovascular conference, New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH), to educate and train medical professionals on the latest techniques to treat coronary and peripheral vascular disease. NCVH was the first large medical conference to include a session focused on critical limb ischemia. A native of Louisiana, he earned his degree from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and completed his internship and residency at Lafayette Charity Hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana. Dr. Walker is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology. He serves as the clinical editor of Vascular Disease Management, a web-based journal that delivers timely clinical information on peripheral vascular disease, published by HMP Communications, LLC. 

Thomas Zeller, MD

“With the epidemic prevalence of obesity and consequent diabetes mellitus, CLI is an increasing global health care burden. Resources for treatment are limited and will remain so; global standardization of diagnostic and treatment strategies — including revascularization procedures and wound care — is crucial to providing as many affected people as possible with high-quality care and preventing major limb amputation.

The AMPutation Prevention Symposium focuses on the various international approaches to CLI therapy, and the need for a global consensus for therapy.  Internationally renowned faculty representing medical knowledge from different continents will discuss the current best practice of CLI care.”

Professor Thomas Zeller, MD, is head of the clinical and interventional angiology department at the University of Freiburg Heart Center in Bad Krozingen, Germany, and associate professor at Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, Germany, where he received his medical training. He is an interventionalist with more than 20 years of experience. His primary research interests are renal artery stenosis, endovascular therapy for peripheral arterial disease, and noninvasive vascular diagnostic methods. He has participated in numerous clinical trials, including studies of drug-coated balloons for femoro-popliteal and infra-popliteal lesions, atherectomy and vessel preparation for drug-coated balloon therapy, among others.  He serves on the editorial board of various scientific journals, such as VASA, EUROIntervention, Vascular Medicine, Catheterization & Cardiovascular Interventions, and the Journal of Endovascular Therapy. He is the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed original and review articles, and he is editor of the textbook “Vascular Medicine: Therapy and Practice,” published in 2010.