Ep. 350 Building a CLI program with Dr. Zola N’Dandu

In this episode, host Dr. Michael Barraza interviews Dr. Zola N’Dandu, an interventional cardiologist at Ochsner Medical Center in Louisiana, about building a successful critical limb ischemia (CLI) program.

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SHOW NOTES

Dr. N’Dandu’s current practice is about 65% peripheral artery disease, with a focus on critical limb ischemia. He discusses how he developed his current CLI focus by traveling and attending conferences, after his formal training. It was during one of these conferences that Dr. N’Dandu was inspired to further get involved with the patients in the wound care center at Ochsner. This interest led to the start of his CLI team.

The episode then shifts towards Dr. N’Dandu’s process of building his CLI team. His commitment to this endeavor helped bring more like-minded people to his team. Having a centralized and committed team has helped Dr. N’Dandu streamline his patient visits, reduce the number of appointments needed for each patient, and greatly decrease the burden on the patients.

Dr. N’Dandu then discusses the evolution of CLI in the last decade and how there are now more medications, therapies, and data available to support patient care. Procedural advancements have also been immensely helpful. Things like radial-to-pedal, 3rd and 4th generation stents, proliferative therapy with stents, drug-coated balloons, and bio-absorbable stents are all advancements in CLI treatment. Additionally, obtaining more data on each therapy will help refine the treatment algorithm for CLI.

As the conversation shifts towards aspects that still need to evolve in CLI treatment, Dr. N’Dandu emphasizes that our treatment of no-option-CLI patients needs to change. One of the treatments that he uses for these patients is deep vein arterialization, a technique that was first discovered in 1912 but still has more potential for growth. DVA involves shunting arterial blood to the veins, which works for CLI, as studies show that it increases angiogenesis and perfusion of the tissue. As Dr. N’Dandu discusses the specifics of his DVA technique, he emphasizes that new advancements are being made every day, so it is crucial to have a cohesive team that can follow up with patients.