As an interventional radiologist at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Dr. Derek Mittleider works to normalize blood flow. Too much? Too little? Blood vessels too large? He does it all.

But he’s best known for opening arteries in patients’ legs and increasing blood flow . . . without major surgery. Think catheters and stents used by heart doctors to open arteries during a heart attack. 

“I tell my patients, same thing going in the opposite direction,” he said. 

The procedure has helped patients throughout the Lewiston area, saving legs that otherwise would have been lost to amputation. In late August, Mittleider was invited to China to speak about his work at a conference full of his international peers.  

We caught up with him before he went.

Name: Derek Mittleider

Age: 42

Town: Falmouth (I practice most often at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston)

Married/single/divorced: Married

Job: Interventional radiologist

What made you want to become a doctor? Watching “MASH” with my mother when I was little.

What does an interventional radiologist do? We use imaging (ultrasound, X-ray, CT) to perform complex procedures through very small holes in the patient’s skin. Most of the work that we do involves blood vessels: increasing flow in those with too little (leg pain, foot wounds), decreasing blood flow where there is too much (uterine fibroids, liver cancer) and treating vessels that are too large (varicose veins, aneurysms).

What will you be speaking about in China? The topics that I’ll be discussing involve different techniques for the reconstruction of arteries below the knee in patients with foot pain and wounds.

How does your procedure differ from the way these issues were handled 10 years ago? Today, we are able to offer patients what are called “minimally invasive” procedures. No large cuts, no general anesthesia, minimal down time. Patients are walking within two hours after the procedure. We can open patients’ leg arteries and increase blood flow to their feet through tiny holes in their skin. Ten years ago, some patients would undergo surgical bypass, a far more invasive procedure with a much longer recovery period. Unfortunately, most patients faced amputation of their lower legs.

Do you know how to say “minimally invasive” in Mandarin? I’ll find out next week.

How did you get involved with interventional radiology? During my training at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. For the first time I saw doctors doing amazing things through tiny holes in the skin.

What’s the best part about it? When a patient has pain in his or her foot at the start of the procedure and the pain is gone at the end. I have had patients cry when they realize their pain is gone. It’s a moving experience every time.

What’s the most challenging part? The length of time required to successfully restore blood flow to patients’ feet. It can take three or more hours to open the arteries.

Is there a lot of need for this in L-A? There is a significant need for our limb salvage program in Lewiston-Auburn and in smaller outlying areas. Diabetes, an increasingly common diagnosis, is a major contributing factor to poor blood flow to the feet and the risk of limb loss. The program at St. Mary’s, a cooperative effort between (the hospital’s) Center for Wound Care and Interventional Radiology, is a key component to saving as many limbs as possible.

What can people do to make sure they never have to visit your office? (Um. No offense.): See your doctor at regular intervals. Take your medications. Keep your blood sugar under control. Don’t smoke.