Richard R. Saxon

Richard R. Saxon, MD is a Fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology and is the Co-founder and Director of Research at the San Diego Cardiac and Vascular Institute (SDCVI). He performs minimally invasive procedures throughout the North County of San Diego at Palomar, Pomerado, Scripps Encinitas, and Tri-City Medical Centers as well as at our outpatient offices in Del Mar, Oceanside, and Escondido. Dr. Saxon has authored or co-authored over 50 scientific articles and book chapters and has been an invited lecturer or scientific presenter over 200 times throughout the world and is an Internationally recognized expert in the field. His research has included the design and development of endovascular stent-grafts for both arterial applications and for the TIPS procedure to treat bleeding in patients with liver disease. He is currently concentrating his efforts on the endovascular treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease and has done some of the first procedures of their kind in patients on the west coast, including the first use of an endovascular stent-graft with a bioactive heparin surface, the first use of Drug coated stent and, more recently, the first use of a drug-coated balloon for treatment of blocked arteries. Dr. Saxon is the National Principal investigator on the VIPER trial, testing the patency of stent-grafts for long blockages of the leg arteries, a technique that can replace bypass surgery.

Dr. Saxon completed his undergraduate studies in biomedical sciences at the University of California at Berkeley in 1982, receiving a certificate of distinction as one of the top10 graduates that year. He earned his medical degree from the University of California at Los Angeles (elected alpha omega alpha) and completed a Radiology Residency at the University of California at San Francisco. Dr. Saxon then completed a fellowship at the Dotter Institute of Interventional Therapy at Oregon Health Sciences University and stayed on as an Assistant Professor of Interventional Radiology until 1997.