Professor Stuart Jamieson has performed over 2600 pulmonary thromboendarterectomies–more than the rest of the world combined. He has trained most of the surgeons who perform this technique. In this interview he describes the way he performs this technique, who is suitable, and also talks about emergency pulmonary embolectomy.
Born in Rhodesia, Professor Stuart Jamieson attended medical school in London. He then went to Stanford where he started as a visiting fellow, and later became Director of the Heart-Lung Transplant Program. He was director of transplantation at Stanford from 1982-1986. At one point in his career, when he was only 34, he was the only surgeon in the world performing heart-lung transplants.
Dr. Jamieson was president of the International Association of Heart and Lung Transplantation while he was Professor and Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Minnesota. He is currently at the University of California, in San Diego, where he is Professor and Head of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.
In this interview Professor Jamieson discusses the indications for pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, his techniques, and his tips for the procedure. He explains his belief that no patient with thromboembolic disease is inoperable. Emergency pulmonary embolectomy and circulatory arrest issues are also discussed.
