Mr. Eleftheriadis is the founder of the Institute of Abdominal Aorta at Yale University, and specializes in coronary artery bypass surgery, commonly known as "bypass", as well as heart transplant surgery.
For the last 20 years or so, Mr. Eleftheriadis has been dedicated, as he told us, to the study of aortic aneurysms.
The professor explained that the term aneurysm means in a very simplified way a kind of swelling, of the artery resulting in ruptures.
John Elefteriades, MD William W.L. Glenn Professor of Surgery (Cardiac Surgery) Source: Yale.edu
In the last 25 years, as Mr. Eleftheriadis told us, surgeons worldwide and at his university have learned two things, when to have aortic surgery and exactly how to operate on it safely.
Specifically, they know when to remove part of the aorta and the surgery required in terms of its risk is now at the same level of "risk" as a routine by-pass surgery.
The chief surgeon stressed that the question which remains, is how to diagnose aortic aneurysms in time so that they can intervene before they occur, that is, prevention.
He also noted that in 95% of cases patients do not feel any discomfort before the fatal fracture of the artery, until the moment it occurs, further reinforcing the need for the recognition of "silent" aortic aneurysms.
Tools for early identification, as Mr. Eleftheriadis told us, are the family history as well as a simple thumb test that has been used for decades.
Their research focused on this simple test, where often in patients with an aortic aneurysm, their thumb extends beyond the palm when attempting to tilt it internally into the fist of the hand.
In particular, in a study conducted and published in the acclaimed scientific journal "American Journal of Cardiology", they tried to approach this test in a scientific way and to rate its usefulness as a measure of aneurysm prevention.
To do this, one of the doctors was trained and then studied hundreds of patients as they entered the operating room, using high-precision sound systems, and then statistical methods to confirm the frequency and rate with which a simple thumb test is able to diagnose possible aneurysm.
Concluding, Mr. Eleftheriadis stated that his journey in science but also his ethical approach and professionalism, he owes mainly to his mother, a Greek woman and an excellent student in Greece of the 2nd World War and the foundations she laid for him.
Finally, in a career of 37 years, experiencing both the greatest emotions by saving people's lives but also the emotional bottom when you can no longer help, Mr. Eleftheriadis declares himself blessed and thanks God for being able to do what he truly loved.
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