Hattiesburg Clinic vascular surgeon, Keith Thompson, D.O., F.A.C.O.S., has been selected to serve as a principle investigator in a nationwide Food and Drug Administration approved clinical study evaluating the minimally invasive repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

The study sponsored by Endologix, of Irvine, Calif., involves 19 centers across the country including facilities like Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio; Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.; Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill; Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H.; and the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas.

The only sites in the southeastern U.S. accepted into the study were Hattiesburg Clinic and Forrest General Hospital; the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla.; and the University of Miami in Miami, Fla.

Physicians were chosen based on extensive experience with abdominal aortic aneurysm interventions as well as overall clinical outcomes.

“This is a tremendous honor to be included in a study with such exclusive company with some of the greatest vascular programs in the country,” Thompson said. “This is not only a reflection of what we’re doing at Hattiesburg Clinic and Forrest General Hospital to treat challenging aneurysms, but it is also in part a validation of our vascular program we’ve labored for years to develop. As a result, we’ve been included alongside some of the top-rated, progressive vascular programs in the U.S.”

Thompson has been a proponent of the minimally invasive treatment of aneurysms and the minimally invasive repair of severe traumatic vascular injuries, having performed the first surgery in the state for thoracic aortic stent-graft repair for traumatic injury in 2005.

Shortly after the surgery, Thompson published a report in Mississippi Medical Journal and now, several physicians across the state now offer this life-saving treatment.

He has also been on the forefront of minimally invasive treatments for other vascular diseases including peripheral arterial disease, carotid stenting and venous disease.

Thompson is board certified in vascular surgery and is a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery and Southern Association for Vascular Surgery. He is in vascular practice with Lewis Hatten, M.D., and Brian Sellers, D.O., at Hattiesburg Clinic.