Priorities and objectives will guide 2022 SVS programs

Whether it’s branding, advocacy or determining research initiatives, the process of setting Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) priorities and objectives begins with SVS members. The SVS conducts a census, which includes asking members to rank-order priorities, every other year. In…
Strength in numbers: Global VASCC COVID-19 project helps identify framework to tackle delayed cases

When Robert Cuff, MD, and Max Wohlauer, MD, first launched the Vascular Surgery COVID-19 Collaborative (VASCC) back in the spring of 2020, the pandemic was still in its first wave, and the goal of a new vascular surgery registry to…
Guidelines recognize potential role for earlier endovascular treatment of uncomplicated type B aortic dissection

New clinical practice guidelines published today aim to act as “guard rails” to determine the treatment options and best practices for managing patients with type B aortic dissection. An important update in the document is the potential for earlier endovascular…
UPDATED: Last call for community practice accolade

The clock is ticking to submit nominations for the 2022 Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Excellence in Community Practice Award—with an extended deadline now set for March 31. The honor is exclusively for those who practice in the community setting,…
Cook Medical receives FDA breakthrough designation for new drug-eluting stent

Cook Medical has received Breakthrough Device designation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a new drug-eluting stent (DES) for below the knee (BTK). This new stent is designed to treat patients suffering from chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). The Breakthrough…
SAVS 2022: ‘Recruiting more women without knowing race/ethnicity of those women only tells part of story’

Failure to stratify gender by race or ethnicity, or vice versa, leads to missed opportunities in the recruitment of underrepresented members from the potential vascular surgery trainee pool. That was one of the examples delivered in a poster presentation at…
Medtronic recalls HawkOne directional atherectomy system

Medtronic has recalled 95,110 HawkOne directional atherectomy system devices distributed in the United States between Jan. 22, 2018, and Oct. 4, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced. The FDA has identified the recall as a Class I—the…
SVS to hold Surgical Coaching Program webinar Jan. 24

Professional athletes and musicians have coaches to help them “up their games.” It follows then that vascular surgeons can benefit from coaching within the specialty. The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) will hold a webinar on surgical coaching from 6–7…
SAVS 2022: Skyrocketing vascular nursing costs hammer division’s financial bottom line

The profit margin of a vascular surgery division at a prominent health system in New Orleans was severely eroded during the COVID-19 pandemic period—despite consistent revenue generation throughout—as nursing labor costs dramatically escalated, according to a deep financial analysis carried…
A balance is required with non-compete agreements in surgical practice

Unless prohibited by state law, most physicians employed by hospitals or physician groups are required to sign non-compete agreements (NCAs). A recent survey of 2,000 primary care providers (PCPs) in five states, 50% of office-based and 37% of hospital-based or…

