The Geoffrey O. Hartzler Master Clinical Operator Award will be presented to Alec Vahanian (Cardiology Department, University Paris Diderot, Bichat Hospital, AP-HP, Paris, France) at the 2017 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting (29 October–2 November, Denver, Colorado). The award is given each year to a physician who has advanced the field of interventional cardiovascular medicine through technical excellence and innovation.
In a ceremony on 31 October at the conference, TCT directors Martin B Leon and Gregg W Stone, will present the award. A press release reports that Vahanian is widely acknowledged for his extensive knowledge and expertise in percutaneous valve interventions, antithrombotic treatments, and valvular heart disease, specifically the evaluation, surgical management, and transcatheter valve interventions of both the aortic and mitral valves. His group performed the first percutaneous mitral commissurotomy in Europe and has amassed more than 30 years of follow-up data in this area.
Furthermore, the group were among the first in France to perform transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and transcatheter mitral valve repair, including the implantation of a TAVI valve in a failing valve prosthesis or surgical annuloplasty or severe mitral annular calcification using the transseptal route. Vahanian also participated in the first studies on thrombolysis and percutaneous coronary intervention during ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) through the GUSTO trial study group.
Leon, CRF founder and co-director of Medical Research and Education, says: “We are extremely honoured to pay tribute to Dr Alec Vahanian. He has a remarkable devotion to patient care, an incredible work ethic, and a desire to continually improve and refine interventional procedures. Throughout his career, Alec has truly embraced innovation and international collaboration to help bring new, more effective ways to treat patients.”
The TCT Master Operator Award will be presented on 31 October at 9:45am in the Main Arena (Bellco Theater) of the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, USA.
