CARDIOLOGIST GIVES TRAINING

Cape Girardeau cardiologist, Dr. James B. Chapman, was in Dallas Aug. 16, to teach directional coronary atherectomy at a training course for physicians.

The course, sponsored by Devices for Vascular Intervention, was held at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Convention Center. More than 50 physicians from throughout the United States attended the daylong session.

Serving on the faculty with Chapman was Dr. Matthew Selman, a cardiologist from Redwood City, Calif.

First performed in 1985, directional coronary atherectomy restores flow to clogged vessels by dislodging plaque from the wall of the vessel. Unlike other methods such as balloon angioplasty, DCA shaves the plaque off the artery, collects the plaque in a special chamber and then completely removes the plaque. It is particularly appropriate for patients with complex lesions that are not ideal for balloon angioplasty.

Chapman has been performing the new procedure at Southeast Missouri Hospital's Regional Heart Center since late last summer. The first procedure performed at the Regional Heart Center was also the first DCA to be done outside a research hospital setting.

In July he assisted St. Joseph Hospital in Denver with implementation of its directional coronary atherectomy program. St. Joseph is Denver's largest cardiology hospital.

Chapman is associated with Cardiovascular Consultants of Cape Girardeau Inc., and has served as chairman of Southeast's Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.

A Fellow in the American College of Cardiology, he holds membership in the American Medical Association, the Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society and the American Heart Association.