Yvan Douville

A central figure in vascular surgery in Quebec, Professor Yvan Douville has played a decisive role in the development of the field since its recognition as a specialty in Canada. As co-founder of the Vascular Diseases Centre of Excellence at the CHU de Québec – Université Laval, he has combined scientific rigour with unifying leadership to help build a lasting foundation for the discipline. 

A dedicated educator

After completing his training in general surgery, Professor Douville earned a master’s degree in experimental medicine and then completed a vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Toronto. Since beginning his career as a vascular surgeon in Québec in 1983, he has devoted himself passionately to mentoring medical students and surgical residents and to maintaining weekly vascular disease meetings. The tradition he established continues to this day, thanks to the dedication of the multidisciplinary team he inspired. 

Professor Douville joined the Department of Surgery in 1985, where he distinguished himself through his key role in establishing the vascular surgery program in 2003. He led the program for five years before becoming head of the Department of Surgery. Under his leadership, an innovative course on leadership in surgery was launched in 2013.

Driven by a strong commitment to providing the best possible training for students, Professor Douville also headed the clerkship program in the Department of Surgery. He has also been active on several faculty committees, including the executive committee on global health, and has chaired the university committee for assessing teaching merit in the use of laboratory animals.

A leader in vascular surgery

Professor Douville has been a key figure in the development of vascular surgery at both the provincial and national levels. Since the specialty’s recognition by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, he has been actively involved on the examination committees and the specialty committee. He also worked to strengthen the foundations of his discipline as President of the Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery. 

His leadership has been instrumental in enhancing the reputation of the supraregional reference centre for vascular diseases, which later became the Vascular Diseases Centre of Excellence at the CHU de Québec – Université Laval. Thanks to his vision and his ability to unite a strong team, this research centre now attracts students from across Canada and around the world.

His research has resulted in 84 scientific publications, 13 book chapters, and some 60 conference presentations. His work has influenced the management of complex arterial diseases and has served as a model across Canada. He has also directed the Experimental Surgery Laboratory and worked closely with teams from the Center for Research in Experimental Organogenesis (LOEX) and the biomaterials institute.

In addition to his contribution to basic research, Professor Douville has brought his expertise to 16 clinical studies, including the STILE (Surgery and Thrombolysis for Ischemia of the Lower Extremity) study, for which he served as national lead investigator.

Committed to philanthropy, he served for more than a decade as co-chair of the physicians’ fundraising campaign for the CHU de Québec Foundation.

Through his contributions to research, teaching, and university administration, Professor Douville has left an indelible mark on the landscape of vascular surgery and medical education in Quebec and across Canada.