Bernardo Curi Mendes, MD

Bernardo C. Mendes, M. D. is a Professor of Surgery in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at the Gonda Vascular Center of the Univeristy of California, Los Angeles, and is the Co-Director of the UCLA Aortic Center.  Dr. Mendes received his medical degree from the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil in 2008 and completed general surgery residency at the Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericordia de Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2012.  He subsequently joined the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Mayo Clinic as a Research Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Gustavo S. Oderich, with focus on endovascular treatment of complex abdominal and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms.   He joined the vascular surgery integrated residency program in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Mayo Clinic in 2013, during which time he received a number of honors, including the Mayo Brothers Distinguished Fellowship Award in 2017, based on outstanding clinical performance, humanitarianism and scholarly activity, and Fellow Teacher of the Year Award in 2018.  He joined the faculty of the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery in 2018, advanced to Professor of Surgery and was the program director for the Advanced Aortic Fellowship.

Dr. Mendes is an associate editor of the Journal of Vascular Surgery publications, and is on the editorial board or a reviewer for multiple vascular journals.  To date, he has delivered over 120 presentations in national and international meetings, and published over 150 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, editorials or abstracts. His main clinical interests are treatment of complex aortic pathology with fenestrated and branched stent grafts. His groundbreaking anatomic analysis of over 500 patients with complex abdominal aortic aneurysms formed the foundation for developing the Gore Thoracoabdominal MultiBranch Endoprosthesis (TAMBE), recently FDA-approved for treating these challenging conditions. Dr. Mendes also received approval for a physician-sponsored Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) in 2023 to study the outcomes of patients treated with physician-modified endografts, which will enhance our understanding about these devices in a monitored and adjudicated trial environment.  His contributions continue to shape the field and guide the next generation of vascular surgeons.

Dr. Mendes joined the faculty at UCLA in May, 2025, bringing several years of experience in management of complex aortic pathology while at Mayo Clinic. His expertise in fenestrated and branched stent graft technology enhances UCLA Health’s ability to treat patients with life-threatening aortic conditions in a minimally invasive and durable manner.