Dr. Ronald Winokur received his bachelor’s degree at Tulane University, Cum Laude with Honors, in Biomedical Engineering and went on to receive his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University’s Jefferson Medical College. After an internship in internal medicine at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, PA, he was a resident in diagnostic radiology and later Chief Resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Dr. Winokur went on to New York Presbyterian Hospital’s Weill Cornell Medical Center with a fellowship in interventional radiology.
He credits Drs. Neil Khilnani, Robert Min and Akhilesh Sista as his mentors. “My focus during my training was to obtain the most broad and complete training in all aspects of interventional radiology. It was during my fellowship in interventional radiology that I became most aware and interested in vein care as a potential focus of practice through exposure to deep venous interventions, superficial venous interventions and pulmonary embolism management.
My relationship with Neil began when I was a fellow in interventional radiology, spending six weeks of dedicated time in superficial venous care. He is a fantastic educator and taught me the pathophysiology and theory regarding management of superficial venous disease.
My prior background in biomedical engineering and insight into the world of vein care is what sparked my interested in this type of practice. As junior faculty, Neil continued to act as an excellent mentor and advisor for me, assisting me with research activities, involvement in organized vein care and answering clinical questions.”
His focus on vein care began when he first saw the impact that can be made on patients’ quality of life with minor, minimally invasive office-based procedures. “There are few aspects of interventional radiology that allow for the longitudinal care of patients, which I found to be one of the most enjoyable parts of my job,” says Dr. Winokur.
“The breadth of venous disease that includes vascular malformations, pelvic congestion syndrome, varicocele, superficial venous insufficiency, DVT and PE are interesting and interrelated disease processes that allow for that longitudinal patient care and clear patient impact.”
Dr. Winokur divides his time between New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center and the Weill Cornell Vein Treatment Center. “The days at the vein treatment center are typically divided into new patient visits, follow up visits, endovenous ablation procedures, ambulatory phlebectomy procedures and sclerotherapy procedures.My time at WCM/NYPH is spent performing fluoroscopy-guided procedures such as DVT thrombolysis, iliac venous stenting, and embolization procedures for pelvic congestion syndrome.”
Working at an academic medical center, he is mostly focused on clinical research including acting as a site primary investigator for a multicenter trial of a dedicated venous stent, managing revenue and quality analysis of dedicated venous thromboembolism clinics, as well as multiple projects on IVC filters.
Dr. Winokur also and participates in registries on pulmonary embolism management. “My interest in future vein research is in improving the understanding and management of patients with pelvic congestion syndrome. I hope to start a multi-center trial evaluating the efficacy of a standardized approach to the management of these patients. In addition, I am interested in improving the outcome of patients with chronic DVT.”
Active in professional organizations such as SIR, ARRS, ACP, RSNA, NYRS and Association of Program Directors in IR, Dr. Winokur fills the majority of his spare time with his family doing fun outdoor activities as well as exploring New York City.
“Vein care has been growing at an exceptional rate in superficial venous care, but I think there will be continued growth in other aspects of vein care including management of venous thromboembolism and pelvic congestion syndrome,” says Dr. Winokur. “The biggest change in the care of superficial venous disease is happening now with the growth of non-thermal, non-tumescent ablation tools. I am excited to see the increasing use of these technologies and how they will compare to the current Laser and RF ablation tools.”
Regarding changes in vein care, Dr. Winokur believes another big change in vein care will be an improved understanding of the appropriate patients who benefit from early clot removal in VTE. “The improvement and development of non-lytic methods for clot removal will change the risk/benefit algorithm that goes into decision-making for intervention or no intervention in these patients.”
While there have been great new developments in the management of patients with all aspects of vein disease, Dr. Winokur still sees large gaps that can be filled to continue to improve the quality of life of patients
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