The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) in San Diego (Aug. 18–21) starts in mere days. For those who face travel or other restrictions and cannot attend in person, the SVS has a technical alternative: livestreaming.
A total of 17 sessions will be livestreamed during the meeting. This includes all six plenary sessions, several international events and many special events. Physicians can earn a total of 15 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits via the streaming option. Cost for students, Candidate members-in-training and residents range from $25 to $165. International physicians pay $292; SVS Candidate members pay $354; SVS members pay $475 and non-member physicians pay $623. Register at vascular.org/RegisterVAM21. The full selection of streamed events, in calendar order, and all at Pacific Daylight Time, are as follows:
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 18
- The William J. von Liebig Forum (Plenary 1), 8 to 9:30 a.m.
- Plenary 2, 9:45 to 10:45 a.m.
- The Crawford Forum, 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
- International Forum, 1 to 3 p.m.
- International Fast Talk, 3 to 4 p.m.
THURSDAY, AUG. 19
- Plenary 3, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
- Awards Ceremony, 9:30 to 9:45 a.m.
- Roy Greenberg Distinguished Lecture, 9:45 to 10:15 a.m.
- Presidential Introduction and Address (by Kim Hodgson, MD, president in 2019–20), 10:45 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- International Chapter Forum, 1:30 to 3 p.m.
FRIDAY, AUG. 20
- Plenary 4, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
- Special Session: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, 10 to 11 a.m.
- Presidential Introduction and Address (by Ronald L. Dalman, MD, president in 2020–21), 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
- International Young Surgeon Competition, 1:30 to 3 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUG. 21
- Plenary 5, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
- John Homans Lecture, 9:30 to 10 a.m.
- Plenary 6, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Annually, VAM offers two lectures, named in honor of vascular giants Roy Greenberg, MD, and John Homans, MD. These are among the streamed sessions listed above, so even those at home can view the presentations.
The Roy Greenberg Distinguished Lecture will see Elsie Gyang Ross, MD, of Stanford University Hospital and Clinics in Stanford, California, present “Oh the places we will go: How artificial intelligence will transform the practice of vascular surgery.”
Ross is an assistant professor of surgery and medicine at Stanford. She completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in biomedical informatics during residency, and her current research focuses on using machine learning and electronic health records for early disease identification, precision medicine and evaluating opportunities to engage in patient education beyond the clinic.
James C. Stanley, MD, of the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will present the John Homans Lecture. His topic is “Renal artery occlusive disease, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone, inflammation and refractory arterial hypertension: A half-century’s perspective.”
Stanley is professor emeritus of surgery at Michigan. He has an extensive clinical practice in arterial reconstructions and a long-standing research interest in molecular and cellular biology of arterial diseases. For a full roundup of the VAM schedule, visit vascular.org/Planner21.
Visit SVS Booth in the Exhibit Hall
Headshots, help and giveaways will all be available at the SVS Booth in the Exhibit Hall during VAM. Be sure to save time in your schedule to not just peruse the exhibits and visit with vendors—plus have lunch, enjoy coffee breaks and watch “Vascular Live” presentations—but also stop by and talk with staff. The SVS Booth is No. 227, towards the back of the Exhibit Hall right across from the Vascular Live presentation area.
At the booth, you can:
- Participate in the Exhibit Hall Scavenger Hunt
- Get a professional headshot, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday and Friday. SVS reserves the right to keep copies of the photos for use in SVS publications
- Sign up for SVSConnect, our online community, download the SVSConnect app or update your profile (import that new headshot, for example)
- Update your SVS membership information
- Get some SVS swag!
Visitors also can pay their membership dues, plus learn about the Society’s educational offerings and programs; the SVS Foundation’s mission and initiatives; the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) and the SVS Political Action Committee; and inquire about the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) publications (maybe JVS editors will have some JVS-branded socks to distribute!).
The SVS Booth is also one of the several stops on the aforementioned SVS Scavenger Hunt. Using the SVS VAM mobile app, just scan the QR code in the SVS Booth and answer the membership-related question that appears. Participants receive 10 points for each correct answer.
Prizes are: $3,000 ticket voucher for American Airlines; $1,500 Amazon gift card; and a $500 Apple gift card. Winners’ names will be available in the VAM registration area on Saturday.
Women’s Leadership Dinner
This year’s Women’s Leadership Dinner will include a tribute to the late Robyn Macsata, MD, a member and Distinguished Fellow of the SVS. Macsata died suddenly on May 21.
The dinner will be held from 7:45 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19, in the Balboa/Mission Hills Room in the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina Hotel. SVS Secretary Amy Reed, MD, and Past President Julie Ann Freischlag, MD, are hosts.
Cost is $80 each. Interested women are asked to register in advance, if possible. Registration is available through the VAM registration site (vascular.org/RegisterVAM21).
Reed will present the tribute to Macsata, who was chief of vascular surgery at the George Washington University Department of Surgery, Washington, D.C.
Three panels, aimed at women at various stages of their careers will follow, with panelists each offering a particular suggestion for success, as well as a challenge for women at each stage of their careers. Audience members will be able to ask questions. All women recipients of this year’s SVS Foundation awards also will be honored.
“Dr. Freischlag and I are delighted to host this dinner, to welcome our women colleagues and hear others impart some words of wisdom on challenges—and successes—that will come along the way for them,” said Reed. “And we will also be able to remember and honor our great friend, Robyn Macsata, who left us way too soon.”
Starting a vascular training program
Starting a vascular surgery integrated program or fellowship can be a daunting process; a number of misconceptions about required case volume, program affiliations and required number of faculty members exist. The SVS and the Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery (APDVS) have a number of initiatives in place to help.
SVS members Malachi Sheahan III, MD, and Jeffrey Jim, MD, will host “How to start a vascular training program.” The informative session will be from 9 to 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 20. It is planned to be interactive, with experienced program directors offering participants useful information and practice advice. Check the VAM Planner (vascular.org/Planner21) for more information.
Meanwhile, after VAM concludes, there will be enduring opportunities to view missed content through recordings of various sessions and presentations.
Approximately six to eight weeks after VAM ends on Aug. 21, SVS OnDemand will host the meeting’s educational content.
The videos and recordings will be available free to VAM 2021 registrants. Those who were unable to participate in the meeting will be able to purchase the sessions; special discount pricing will be available for members. It’s the perfect way for VAM attendees to review a session at their own pace, or catch up on something they missed on-site, and for non-attendees to take advantage of all the programming that was presented. Keep your eyes on vascular.org/education for information on VAM21 offerings.
SVS already planning VAM 2022
Preventing complications. Imaging. Limb salvage, wound complications, leadership. Mesenteric artery revascularization and conducting clinical trials. Vascular access and kidney disease. Malpractice.
Vascular surgeons encounter situations daily that vex or perplex them. If you’ve ever thought that a particular situation would be perfect for examination at a session at VAM, now is your chance.
Shortly after VAM 2021 ends, the SVS will begin soliciting ideas and proposals from the entire membership for invited sessions for VAM 2022. That meeting will be June 15 to 18, 2022, in Boston. Educational programming will be presented all four days. SVS opens the submission process to the entire membership, seeking the widest range of topics of interest to its members, who work in a variety of practice settings. Those submitting topics should provide the educational value of a session, a short outline of the program topic, session goals and target audience, among other information.
The Society recognizes the effort and commitment required to develop VAM programs. This process is intended to elicit preliminary proposals without a great expenditure of time up front, and feedback will be provided for those selected for further development.
Submission proposals are expected to be due toward the end of September. A link to the submission form will be available at vascular.org/VAM.
