Dr. Allastair Karmody
- Vascular Surgeon

Dr Allastair Karmody is internationally recognised for his techniques in vascular surgery. He pioneered limb re-attachment surgery and kidney transplants at the Albany Medical Institute for Vascular Health and Disease, as well as the “Albany operation” for treating blocked arteries in the lower limbs. His surgical team at the Institute has earned worldwide recognition for their contributions to their profession.

Allastair Karmody was born in south Trinidad on 29th March 1937. Though he lived in the south, his success at the Government Exhibition Examination in 1947 from the Coffee Street EC Primary School earned him the opportunity to attend St. Mary’s College, one of the top boys’ schools in the island at the time. He relocated to north Trinidad during his tenure at St. Mary’s and stayed at an acquaintance of his mother. Because of this, he was physically separated from his family circle and spent his teenage years away from home. However, he was still able to maintain his connection with home, particularly when he was joined by his brother Collingwood at St. Mary’s in 1948. At St. Mary’s, he participated in extra-curricular activities, including cricket. He was an avid reader and had an interest in architecture.

Karmody was a dedicated student and he won the Jerningham Gold Medal and the Island Scholarship for Science in 1955, placing first among all Higher Certificate candidates that year. Funded by his scholarship, he went to the United Kingdom where he studied medicine at the University of Aberdeen at Scotland and at Oxford University in England. He gained many scholarships and awards during his academic career. His Master’s thesis was on the mechanism of blood clotting and he earned a MSc in Surgery. He also became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons at this time.

In 1970, Dr Karmody joined the staff of the Albany Veterans Administration Hospital in Albany New York, becoming a faculty member of the Albany Medical College soon after. At the Albany Medical Institute for Vascular Health and Disease, Dr Karmody worked with several outstanding and dedicated physicians and surgeons, a team whose surgical skills brought fame to the Institute. Before the 1970s, vascular surgery was not yet considered a separate and specialised field of surgery. During that decade, disorders associated with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) became very common and many surgeons became proficient with vascular procedures. Not every cardiac surgeon could perform these delicate operations and before long, the field became a specialised one and certifications were established for those who performed these delicate operations.

Some of the procedures in vascular surgery pioneered by Dr Karmody’s Albany team are now international standards. One such procedure is the “in-situ saphenous vein bypass”. This procedure, which was first attempted in Norway, facilitates the flow of blood in lower limbs that contain blocked arteries by diverting the flow of blood from artery to vein using artificial grafts. The technique was improved upon and finessed by Dr Allastair Karmody and Dr Robert Leather in Albany, with excellent results. The improved procedure was named the “Albany operation” and is now the standard technique to treat these cases.

Dr Karmody was a key figure in pioneering limb re-attachment surgery and his work at the institution’s kidney transplant programme also became internationally recognised. He wrote over 150 peer-reviewed publications and numerous book chapters. He was a sought after speaker at national and international meetings as well as a mentor and teacher to many postgraduate surgical fellows from the United Kingdom, the Caribbean and other countries. He was elected Professor of Surgery in 1980.

Dr Karmody was a member of several professional organisations including the American Surgical Association, the Society of Vascular Surgery (of which he was President-Elect), the International Cardiovascular Society and the New York Academy of Science.

When he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, he himself planned the surgical procedure needed to treat it. Although he passed away in 1986 at the age of 49, his impact on vascular surgery did not go unacknowledged. The vascular laboratory at Albany is named the Karmody Vascular Laboratory in his honour. Additionally, The Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery administers an “Allastair Karmody Essay”, which annually awards a medical student a US$1000 prize for an essay on experimental or clinical analysis and review of published data on the anatomy, physiology, pathology, biochemistry or genetics of the vascular system and its diseases.

Allastair Karmody’s contributions to vascular surgery, the medical profession and the Institute where he worked truly qualify him as a Caribbean Icon. His brother Collingwood (himself an outstanding physician and Head of the Department of Otolaryngology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston) described him as “the most brilliant person I ever knew”.

This Icon is also featured in the Kids’ Booklet :

Sources:

Khan, A. (2004). pers. comm.
(2003) Dr. Alistair Karmody In: St. Mary’s College Hall of Fame Pen Portraits of the Year 2003 Inductees p. 11. Pamphlet.
Web Links:

Weblinks:

Engeler, Beth (2000) Team approach brings latest therapies to vascular patients. Centre News Vol. 23, No.3 News about Albany Medical Center p. 1- 4.
Engeler, Beth (2000) AMC vascular teams pioneer new approaches. Centre News Vol. 23, No.3 News about Albany Medical Center p. 5
www.amc.edu/resources/AlbMedCentNews05_00.pdf

Selected Publications:

• Karmody, A. M., Goldman, M., Shah, D. M., Corson, J. D. and Leather, R. P. (1983) The current position of "non- resective" treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Surgery 94: 591-597.

• Karmody, A. M., Leather, R. P., Shah, D. M. Corson, J. D. and Naraynsingh, V. (1984) Peroneal artery bypass: a reappraisal of its value in limb salvage. Journal of Vascular Surgery 1:809-816.

• Karmody, A. M., Corson, J. D., Shah, D. M., Young, H. L. and Leather, R. P. (1985) Technique of the in-situ saphenous vein arterial bypass. In: Atlas of Vascular Surgery. R M Greenhalgh (ed). London, Butterworth Publishers, pp 191-198.

• Karmody, A .M., Leather, R. P., Shah, D. M. and Corson, J. D. (1985) The in-situ saphenous vein arterial bypass: current problems and solutions In: Complications in Vascular Surgery. V. M. Bernhard and J. B. Towne (eds). Orlando, Grune and Stratton, Inc. pp 561-588.

• Karmody, A. M., Leather, R. P., Shah, D. M. and Corson, J. D. (1986) Arterial bypass using the in situ saphenous vein: advantages and disadvantages. Houston Medical Journal 2:133-138.

• Karmody, A. M., Shah, D. M., Corson, J. D. and Leather, R. P. (1986) An overview of the current position of in- situ saphenous vein arterial bypass. Vascular Reports 2:58-64.

• Karmody, A. M., Leather, R. P., Shah, D. M. and Corson, J. D. (1987) The development of a high visibility needle. Contemporary Surgery 31:48-50.

• Karmody, A. M., Shah, D. M., Corson, J. D. and Leather, R. P. (1987) Nonresection in abdominal aortic aneurysm. In: Current Therapy in Vascular Surgery. C. B. Ernst and J. C. Stanley (eds) Burlington, Ontario, Canada, B C Decker, Inc. pp 111-113.

• Karmody, A. M., Leather, R. P., Corson, J. D. and Shah, D. M. (1987) Surgery of the profunda femoris artery. In: Vascular Surgery: Principles and Practices. S. E. Wilson, F. J. Veith, R. W. Hobson II and R. A. Williams (eds.) New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company. pp 425-436.
   

Education:

• St. Mary’s College, Port of Spain

• University of Aberdeen, Scotland

• Oxford University, England

Fellowships and Memberships:

• Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons England

• Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, Scotland.

• American Surgical Association

• International Cardiovascular Society

• New York Academy of Science

• Society of Vascular Surgery
  
  
   

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