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Vascular fellow: ‘Keeping your head down does not save you from inequality’
Pain is often fully experienced in isolation. It’s these experiences that serve as some of the most defining moments in life. The history of race cannot be recounted without sorrow. It remains a constant reminder of our differences, a difference…
‘I cannot remove my black skin’: Perspective of a vascular surgery resident
For each of the past 10 days, I’ve woken up and asked myself the same questions: Do I matter? Does my life have as much value as that of anyone else? I haven’t had positive answers to these questions. Not…
Virtual catch-up: Vascular surgery and coming around to telemedicine
Remote treatment of patients, so-called telemedicine, has been around since the 1940s, when it was first used for transmission of radiology images. In later years, remote interaction between physician and patient was predominantly used by medical subspecialties such as behavioral…
To drain or not to drain? That is the question
Improvements in techniques of distal organ protection decreased the risk of spinal cord injuries (SCIs) from 30% to <5% with open repair of extent I-II thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs).1-4 Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage has been widely accepted as one of…
Embracing new definition of healthcare as digital age confronts holdouts
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged our healthcare system like nothing before. We have confronted other diseases like influenza, tuberculosis, AIDS and even the opioid epidemic; but we have never before shut down the world economy…
Medical care in time of coronavirus: Handling patients without COVID-19
The patient was thin, pale and clearly frightened, although he tried not to show it. With poor English skills, he patiently sat on the examining table trying to understand what I was saying. His wife and two small children sat…
SVS needs assessment survey: Evaluating impact of COVID-19 on vascular surgery
The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed the healthcare workforce with unprecedented challenges, the like of which has not been experienced in a century. In response, the vascular surgeon community has rallied together in a similarly extraordinary way—with real-time, peer-to-peer support and…
COVID-19: Socially distant yet never closer
We certainly live in interesting times—times in which social distancing has literally become the new normal. COVID-19 came to the United States quietly and then hit like a brick, creating a national emergency. It is almost difficult to remember what…
Wellness: Of dreaming in blood and the ‘moral injury’ contained in a healthcare setting
Have you ever “dreamt in blood”? A vivid, waking nightmare that reminds you of exsanguinating hemorrhage that can’t be stopped? I have. An Iraqi war fighter who sustained catastrophic explosive lower-extremity and truncal wounds and required far-forward damage control resuscitation…
Advocate or adversary? Perils baked into the relationship between physicians and patients
Patients with complex illnesses may not be eligible for hospital admission unless their diagnoses meet InterQual Criteria or Milliman Care Guidelines—hurdles patients must first pass through in order to be admitted. Forget how bad the patient feels; an admission may…