Dr. Uri Landes flew 6,671 miles to learn how to replace a heart valve with one that, before opening, is about .13 inches — or the diameter of an infant’s pinkie.
Landes, a 2018-2019 APF Fellow at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, is partway through a clinical and research fellowship in interventional cardiology.
“This particular subspecialty has both sides: innovation and technology on the one side and patient care on the other. It’s just a great combination for me. “Interventional cardiology is somewhere between being an internist and a surgeon,” says the Tel Aviv resident. “I like physics and manual stuff, also physiology and the cardiovascular system.”
Interventional cardiology treats cardiovascular disease and structural defects using multiple non-surgical procedures in the hospital cardiac catheterization laboratory. Procedures usually don’t require incisions larger than an inch and many entries are by needle puncture, and so are considered minimally invasive. A cardiologist inserts a catheter, guiding it toward the heart area using real-time X-rays. Pacemakers and defibrillators can be implanted after introduction via catheter; valves and stents can be inserted the same way. General anesthesia is not typically required.
A Late Start
The 40-year-old started in medicine somewhat later than most of his colleagues. After leaving IDF commando service in the highly decorated Golani Brigade, he spent a year traveling the world. “When I came back, because I had such mediocre scholarship, I had to spend time studying to retake my final exams. That was the first time I thought about medicine for myself.”
But he had it in his blood. “On my mother’s side my grandfather was the first head of anesthesiology at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Haifa. And my grandmother on that side was the first head of gynecology at Beilinson Hospital (joined with Hasharon Hospital in 1996 to form the two campuses of Rabin Medical Center in Peta Tikva). She was a superstar.”
The Tel Aviv native actually started out studying physics. “But I changed my mind and decided on medicine…. CLICK TO READ DR. LANDES WHOLE STORY
The APF Fellowship Program
Today, Israel has a ratio of just 3.1 doctors for every 100 people. Likewise only, 6.8 people per 1000 graduate with medical studies degrees. Both statistics put Israel near the bottom among the 36 nations surveyed by the OECD and are indicators of a significant shortage of qualified physicians throughout the country. This shortage of doctors adds to Dr. Alshiek’s remarkable story and is one of the reasons APF has committed to our Fellowship Program.
Shaping Future Leaders
Since our founding in1951, APF has played a significant role in helping to develop more than 1500 fellows like Dr. Barac who have gone on to be part of the next generation of Israel’s healthcare leaders. It is only through the generosity and commitment of our members and supporters that we are able to continue this program as a tangible answer to the shortage of physicians facing the people of Israel.
By joining APF – for less than 65 cents a day – you will become part of a unique organization of healthcare professionals who are committed to helping Israeli physicians learn advanced clinical and research techniques that they can bring to medically underserved areas throughout Israel. Your membership includes exclusive travel, educational and professional opportunities that are exclusive to APF members. And your support helps ensures that we have strong, skilled and competent leaders who will drive Israel’s healthcare forward.
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