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Thomas O. McNamara, MD, Receives ISET Career Achievement Award
Hollywood, FL (January 24, 2020) – Thomas O. McNamara, MD, received the 2020 ISET Career Achievement award on Friday, January 24th, as presented by James Benenati, MD.
Dr. McNamara is a Professor Emeritus of Radiological Sciences at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his research and work in limb salvage, stroke, congenital angiomas and vascular malformations, varicose veins, venous occlusions and ulcers, and in the treatment of chronic pain. Dr. McNamara has been practicing medicine for 54 years.
Dr. McNamara noted that he was “immediately and strongly” attracted to interventional procedures at the beginning of his career, particularly “by the early reports of radiologists (including Dotter, Katzen, van Breda, Sos, Motarjeme, Schwarten, and Ring) performing percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA).” In the late 1980’s, Dr. McNamara attended a conference where Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute founder Dr. Barry T. Katzen presented on PTA and lysis. Inspired by the work of Drs. Katzen and van Breda, Dr. McNamara and his colleague Dr. John Fisher went on to develop a large practice of PTA and thrombolysis for peripheral vascular disease; the largest single-center experience with PTA of brachiocephalic and carotid artery occlusive disease; and a moderate volume of experience with embolization of extra cranial arteriovenous (AV) malformations and dural fistulas, as well as thrombolysis of dural sinus thrombosis. They presented their results at local, regional, and national meetings as well as in radiology and surgical publications, resulting in innumerable speaking engagements, national recognition, and Dr. McNamara’s recruitment to UCLA in 1989, as the chief of interventional radiology. At UCLA, he built a referral practice based on a reputation for successfully treating seemingly hopeless arterial and venous problems. Dr. McNamara participated and led multiple clinical trials involving thrombolysis and new medical devices, was privileged to be able to serve as a faculty member for many national and international medical conferences, and served as an industry consultant for developing new drugs and devices. Dr. McNamara participated in the development of thrombolysis infusion systems with Cook, Intratherapeutics, Biocardia, Microtherapeutics, Tom Fogarty, Ekos, and Andy Cragg; augmenting thrombolysis with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors and with oxygen radicals; angioplasty systems with Cryotherapeutics, the Cutting Balloon with Boston Scientific, stents with Cordis and Intratherapeutics, and closure devices with several companies. He also patented a pre-curved nitinol guidewire for renal angioplasty (sold by Cook), a stent, and a Porta-Cath with a negative charge to repel platelets, as well as a method of using oxygen radicals to accelerate clot dissolution.
Dr. McNamara retired from UCLA in 2008 as a Professor Emeritus. He continued to practice as an interventional radiologist in Carson City, Nevada, near his home at Lake Tahoe, and then in 2013, he relocated to Bishop, California, near Mammoth Mountain, where he is able to do more fishing and hiking, and continues his practice today, focusing on consulting and interventional treatments for pain. Dr. McNamara is married with two children.
Recipients of the ISET Career Achievement award are voted on by ISET Program Directors. ISET has been presenting a Career Achievement award for approximately 25 years.
