Led by world-renowned vascular surgeon Dr. Giuseppe Papia, Sunnybrook Hospital’s Project Saving Legs is preventing amputations for patients with diabetes.

Ontario is blessed by the fact that many of the world’s leading health care professionals, both researchers and practitioners, have chosen to call the province home. That makes its hospitals and health care institutions some of the best on the planet. That includes Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital, world-renowned for its innovations and top medical minds — minds such as that of leading vascular surgeon Dr. Giuseppe Papia, who is involved with the life-saving work of Project Saving Legs at Sunnybrook.

An estimated 1,600 Ontarians with diabetes lose a limb each year, and with global rates of diabetes steadily rising, the number of patients suffering amputations is projected to increase by 50 per cent over the next 20 years. Project Savings Legs is an innovative initiative aiming to treat Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), a vascular condition that is one of the most chronically under-recognized but potentially life-threatening health conditions in North America, often leading to leg amputation. Project Saving Legs is yet another example of the world-leading innovations for which Sunnybrook has long been recognized.

“Sunnybrook really has the ethos of change in inventing the future of health care, and so that’s what we’re all about when it comes to research and education,” says Dr. Papia in a recent interview with City Life. “We really believe in our motto of ‘When It Matters Most.’ What we’re trying to do here is prevent amputations and preserve people’s dignity. At Sunnybrook, how we approach patient care is with gratitude, and you’ll find that with our nurses and even our porters, who are often the first contact with anxious patients. Our philosophy is patients first, and we really do care. It really is a special place.”

Today, even though he has 35 years of experience in health care and is the Chair of Vascular Surgery at the University of Toronto, Dr. Papia remains very much the child of Italian immigrants who was born in Toronto and grew up in Downsview. He first became interested in the medical profession because of his family’s doctor on College Street.

“Our doctor took care of all of us, my cousins, everyone,” recalls Dr. Papia. “I remember after one appointment my father took out a letter he got from the government, which had nothing to do with a medical issue, and our doctor took the time to care and help him understand the letter. I remember being inspired to want to be a person like that. I always wanted to be a person who people could depend upon for anything, and that’s what inspired me to do medicine. My goal through medical innovation is to help people I’ll never even meet.”

People have been depending on Dr. Giuseppe Papia for decades, and for the past decade patients suffering from diabetes can rely on Project Saving Legs to protect their health, their limbs, to increase their awareness of PAD and to invent and offer the most advanced treatments to limit amputations.

Set up similarly to a cancer-care facility with many disciplines under one roof, the Sunnybrook team performs more than 250 minimally invasive angioplasties each year to clear blockages and restore blood flow to patients’ legs. This treatment often results in immediate relief, and patients typically return home the same day. In cases where angioplasty isn’t an option, Sunnybrook surgeons perform leg bypass surgery or hybrid procedures, all to restore patients’ lives and mobility. It is yet another illustration of inventing new approaches to health care, which has been a core discipline at Sunnybrook.

“Sunnybrook Really Has The Ethos Of Change In Inventing The Future Of Health Care, And So That’s What We’re All About When It Comes To Research And Education.”
– Dr. Giuseppe Pipia

“When we started doing these procedures about eight years ago, at that time people thought we were crazy,” says Dr. Papia. “Honestly, there were complaints against us from the College of Physicians and Surgeons for experimenting on patients who should have an amputation. However, the reality is the cardiologists here at Sunnybrook already had all the tools and heart-related procedures to increase blood flow in that area, so we just turned those procedures around and used them on the legs and toes.”

Sunnybrook has always pushed the boundaries of what is possible in health care, and that is also true with Project Saving Legs. They are using advanced vascular imaging for a better look inside blocked arteries while also investigating several advanced methods that use magnetic resonance imaging. This allows them to work to improve treatment decisions by determining which types of plaque may be more difficult or even impossible to treat using guidewires, stents or balloons.

On August 9th, Ride for Project Saving Legs reached a significant milestone by raising $367,750 bringing the cumulative total to $1,000,000! This accomplishment makes their future efforts to help those suffering from Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) all the more promising. | Photo Courtesy Of Sunnybrook.[/caption]
Health care costs money, and so does a groundbreaking program such as Project Saving Legs, so financial support is needed to grow and improve the program. True to his Italian heritage, Dr. Papia is an avid cyclist, so with the help of the famed GTA-based Team Revolution cycling group Dr. Papia and other cyclists ride to raise funds for it. The fourth annual Ride for Project Saving Legs was held this summer at the Vineland Estates Winery, where cycling enthusiasts rode with the goal of bringing the total cumulative funds raised in just four years to more than $1 million. The participants enjoyed a winery luncheon following their ride in Vineland, Ont. — because cyclists get thirsty, too.

Project Saving Legs now is globally recognized and trains doctors from countries including Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and the Philippines who travel to Sunnybrook to learn the innovative techniques, then return to their home countries to train even more doctors in limb preservation. Dr. Giuseppe Papia has always been about preserving a person’s health and dignity. His determination and innovation in reinventing health care is doing just that.

INTERVIEW BY MARC CASTALDO

sunnybrook.ca/foundation
@projectsavinglegs