VCU School of Medicine welcomes three interventional radiologists

By Malorie Burkett

Three physicians have joined the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine’s Department of Radiology, where as interventional radiologists they will perform minimally invasive techniques using real-time images and X-ray to save and prolong the lives of patients with inoperable or life-threatening conditions.

The three, who have worked together during previous assignments, will join Jaime Tisnado, M.D., professor in radiology, and Uma Prasad, M.D., associate professor in radiology, both of whom have provided interventional radiology services for a number of years. All five interventional radiologists are certified by the American Board of Radiology.

The newly appointed faculty are:

• Daniel A. Leung, M.D., associate professor and director of interventional radiology. Prior to his arrival at VCU, Leung served as assistant professor in interventional radiology at the University of Virginia Health System, where he helped develop interventional radiology services for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease, liver cancer and thoracic aortic aneurysms.
• Malcolm K. Sydnor, M.D., assistant professor of radiology, who recently completed a fellowship in vascular and interventional radiology at UVA. He has been an author in multiple papers and scientific exhibits in both interventional radiology and mammography.
• Daniel J. Komorowski, M.D., assistant professor of radiology, who also completed a fellowship in interventional radiology at UVA. His research interests include interventional oncology and peripheral arterial disease.

“The addition of Doctors Leung, Sydnor and Komorowski to the interventional radiology section will allow the Department of Radiology to offer new therapeutic options for a variety of patients, including those with vascular diseases and malignancies,” said Ann Fulcher, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiology. “Minimally invasive therapies such as ablation of varicose veins and the implantation of radiation sources directly into tumors will make it possible for patients to avoid surgery in many instances.”

Fulcher called the appointments an “exciting time for VCU because the Department of Radiology has acquired the manpower and resources to deliver interventional radiology to patients to really develop and bring it to the forefront.”

Fulcher said that interventional radiology, often referred to as angiography, traditionally has been a service to which patients were referred in order to establish a diagnosis such as atherosclerosis. She said modern-day interventional radiology, such as that offered at VCU, provides not only diagnostic information but therapeutic interventions for a variety of diseases that otherwise would be treated surgically.

These include conditions ranging from aortic aneurysms and liver tumors to uterine fibroids and varicose veins, a condition affecting more than 20 million individuals in the United States that is characterized by twisted, enlarged veins caused by swollen or enlarged blood vessels.

Prasad and Sydnor, in conjunction with the other members of the interventional radiology team, have already created a venous ablation service which will allow patients with varicose veins to be treated in an outpatient environment.

Leung says venous ablation, like many interventional radiology procedures, has numerous advantages for patients in that the minimally invasive procedure is less painful, has fewer complications and often results in a shorter recovery time.

“In marked contrast to the interventional radiologists of the past, modern-day interventional radiologists evaluate patients in their own clinics, work in conjunction with referring physicians to determine the optimal care for the patients and, in many instances, admit patients to an interventional radiology service in the hospital,” said Fulcher. “Our five interventional radiologists are indeed of the modern variety.”

For more information, visit http://www.radiology.vcu.edu.