Massachusetts General Hospital | Heart Center

BiographyDr. Kwolek graduated from the University of California, San Francisco Medical School in 1987. He completed his general surgery training at the Harvard/Deaconess Surgical Service in 1993, his Vascular Surgery fellowship at the MGH in 1995 and an advanced endovascular fellowship at the Arizona Heart Institute. After serving on the faculty at the University of Kentucky as the Chief of Vascular Surgery and the training program director, he was recruited back to the MGH in 1992. He currently serves as Director of the Vascular and Endovascular Training program at the MGH and as the Chief of Vascular Surgery at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Dr. Kwolek is involved in numerous clinical trials to evaluate new treatments and devices for the management of thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms, aortic dissection, carotid artery disease and lower extremity arterial disease. He serves as the MGH site prinicpal investigator (PI) for many of these trials and as the national PI on an aortic aneurysm trial and a carotid angioplasty and stenting trial. He also serves as a reviewer for multiple medical journals and on the editorial board for the Journal of Endovascular Therapy. He is highly sought after as an invited speaker at numerous National and International Vascular Conferences and has authored over 80 manuscripts/book chapters and monographs related to vascular and endovascular disease management.

ResearchDr. Kwolek has been involved with numerous FDA approved clinical trials to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of new devices and techniques for the management patients with complex vascular problems. He has served as the MGH site principal investigator for trials involving Thoracic aortic stent grafting for the repair of degenerative aneurysms, aortic dissection and traumatic injury to the thoracic aorta. He is currently serving as the site principal investigator to evaluate new fenestrated stent grafts for treating complex abdominal aortic aneurysms and serves as the National Co-principal investigator for the Terumo Anaconda Infrarenal stent graft trial. He has been the MGH prinicipal investigator for several trials involving carotid angioplasty and stenting and will serve as the National Co-Principal Investigator for a new carotid stent trial using proximal flow reversal, Dr. Kwolek has also been involved as the MGH PI for lower extremity angioplasty and stenting trials using plain and drug eluting stents and is leading the research effort to evaluate mechanical atherectomy for the treatment of lower extremity arterial disease.

Dr. Kwolek's other interests include the use of intravascular ultrasound for the mangement of aortic dissection and other acute vascular problems, placement and retrieval of temporary IVC filters for the management of venous thrombosis, and the managment of venous and arterial thoracic outlet syndrome.

Publications

Kwolek CJ, Crawford RS. Training the next generation of Vascular Specialists: Current Status and Future Perspectives. J Endovasc Ther 2009;16(Suppl I):I42-I52.

Kwolek CJ. Has carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) replaced carotid endarterectomy (CEA) as the treatment of choice for Carotid disease? Pro. J Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia 2009;23(2):245-

Cambria RP, Crawford RS, Cho JS, Bavaria J, Farber M, Lee WA, Ramaiah V, Kwolek CJ.  A multicenter clinical trial of endovascular stent graft repair of acute catastrophes of the descending thoracic aorta.  J Vasc Surg 2009;50:1255-64

MGH leads team demonstration of complex vascular interventions

MGH Hotline 11.19.10

Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Systemic Cardiovascular Disease

Experts from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Heart, Vascular and Stroke Care present a dynamic symposium on systemic cardiovascular disease.

Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Systemic Cardiovascular Disease: An Integrated Approach to Treating Heart Failure and Valve Disease, Vascular Disease

Experts from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Heart, Vascular and Stroke Care present a dynamic symposium on systemic cardiovascular disease.