From reactive to proactive: CHAMPIONS builds nationwide effort around PAD prevention

“We’ve always approached peripheral artery disease in a very reactive way in that we wait for a patient to show up in our office or the emergency room with claudication, rest pain or gangrene and only then do we intervene,…
Broader advocacy efforts are needed to address workforce, payment challenges

Innovation in vascular surgery goes beyond new devices and procedures. It also requires new approaches to advocacy in a health care system increasingly shaped by consolidation, workforce shortages and shifting employment models. That was the central message from Margaret Tracci,…
Study links clopidogrel genetic variants to cardiovascular risk after PAD intervention

Genetic variants that reduce the effectiveness of clopidogrel may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients undergoing peripheral artery disease (PAD) interventions, according to research presented at VAM 2026. The study found that around one in five…
‘Treat the water, not just the pipes’: Addressing prevention in vascular care

“The artery is ours and it should be all of it,” said Lily Johnston, MD. “Trying to reroute the blood flow without changing what runs through it is like changing the pipes in a house without addressing the toxic wastewater…
Subspecialty certification: Solution or added burden?

Should vascular surgeons receive additional certification in specific areas of practice? That question was explored at VAM 2026, where Kellie Brown, MD, professor of surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, discussed the potential benefits and challenges of formal subspecialty…
‘We are all family’: Calligaro calls for unity and innovation during VAM presidential address

During his presidential address at VAM 2026, Keith Calligaro, MD, called on vascular surgeons to think beyond today’s clinical challenges and outlined a vision for the specialty built around unity, innovation, education and patient advocacy. Speaking before a record-breaking attendance…
Finding common ground begins with shared experiences

During the keynote address at VAM 2026, author and political commentator Michael Smerconish argued that one of the greatest challenges facing the United States is not political disagreement itself, but the steady erosion of shared experiences that once connected communities.…
SVS election results announced during Annual Business Meeting

During the Annual Business meeting at VAM 2026, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) announced it elected William Shutze, MD, as the incoming vice president and Bernadette Aulivola, MD, as the new treasurer. As vice president, Shutze will help coordinate…
Redefining pain management in amputations with cryoXT

This video was sponsored by AtriCure.
Better education, communication may help reduce disparities in dialysis care

Disparities in vascular access outcomes are driven less by biology and more by inequities in education and communication, according to Karen Woo, MD, PhD, professor of surgery at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. During a session focused on…

