Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis in the COVID Era

About Dr. Anthony Comerota (Host)

Dr. Comerota is a board-certified vascular surgeon. He joined Inova as the Medical Director of the Eastern Region Heart and Vascular Institute, with over 36 years of clinical experience. Dr. Comerota served as a faculty member at Temple University Health Sciences Center where he became Chief of Vascular Surgery, Professor of Surgery, Program Director of General and Vascular Surgery, President of the Medical Staff and President of the Medical Alumni Association. He also served as Director of the Jobst Vascular Institute, ProMedica Toledo Hospital from 2002 - 2015 and Executive Director of Research, ProMedica Health System and Jobst Vascular Institute from 2015 to January 2017. 

Dr. Comerota has been a major contributor to the development of some of the newest forms of treatment for vascular disease and has been the principal investigator of seven major national trials and a co-investigator of numerous others. 

Dr. Comerota has a special interest in acute and chronic venous thromboembolic disease, complex deep venous reconstruction, and carotid artery disease. He became interested in venous thromboembolic disease because it is a serious and common vascular disorder.

About Dr. Riyaz Bashir (Guest)

While maintaining his full medical and academic responsibilities at the Temple University and Temple University Hospital System, Dr. Bashir serves in an ex-officio Chief Medical Consultant role for Thrombolex.

Dr. Bashir shares the product design creation responsibilities with Mr. Green. Dr. Bashir is a Professor of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine and is the inventor of the Bashir Endovascular Catheter. His specialties include: carotid artery and peripheral vascular diseases, coronary and endovascular interventions (including carotid stenting and gene and stem cell therapy).

He attended medical school at the University of Kashmir, Government Medical College, Srinagar, India. His training includes a fellowship, interventional cardiology, Mayo Clinic; fellowship, vascular medicine and endovascular intervention, Tufts University School of Medicine, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center; fellowship, cardiovascular medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center; residency, internal medicine, University of Kashmir, S.M.H.S. Hospital and Nassau University Medical Center, SUNY at Stony Brook.

His certifications include: interventional cardiology, vascular technology, endovascular interventions, vascular medicine, cardiovascular disease, and internal medicine.

About the Bashir Endovascular Catheter

The BASHIR™ Endovascular Catheter is a device intended for the localized infusion of physician specified fluids, including thrombolytics, into the peripheral vasculature.

The distal infusion segment of the device is 12.50 cm long and consists of an expandable basket with mini-infusion catheters, each with multiple infusion holes.

It is used for the delivery of the physician-specified fluids at multiple cross-sectional points of the target vessel location.

The infusion basket can be expanded using the red actuator located on the handle at the proximal end of the device.

After expansion, the mini-infusion catheters may be returned to their original closed positions by depressing the white button on the actuator and advancing the actuator toward the distal end of the device. 

BASHIR™ Endovascular Catheters are for use only by trained physicians in strict accordance with the FDA-cleared IFU. Read more.

Dr. Steve Elias bids adieu -- VEIN Magazine thanks him for 12 wonderful episodes of the VEIN Magazine Podcast. Be sure to listen to his new show --