New blunt thoracic aortic injury guidelines reflect evolution in evidence and care

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has published new clinical practice guidelines on the management of blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI), reflecting more than a decade of evolving evidence since the prior recommendations were published in 2011. BTAI remains one…
Retirement for Vascular Surgeons: Considerations at the Crossroads of Skill and Ethics

Becoming an experienced vascular surgeon requires years of rigorous training, profound sacrifice, and sustained dedication. Many accumulate substantial financial debt in pursuit of their education. Even those who move directly from undergraduate studies to medical school and then into an…
Carotid endarterectomy and TCAR show comparable outcomes in patients with high cardiac risk

Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR) showed similar perioperative safety and long-term effectiveness in patients with severe cardiac comorbidities, according to a recent retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database. Aidin Baghbani, MD, first author on the study…
Education session closes PAD knowledge gap among primary care residents

A focused education session significantly improved primary care residents’ confidence in diagnosing and managing peripheral artery disease (PAD), a new study found. The findings reinforce longstanding concerns about limited PAD awareness in primary care and highlight a scalable solution. “Our…
SVS Foundation travel grant to support early-career female vascular surgeons

Women make up only 16% of the vascular surgery workforce, yet female vascular surgeons are 2.05 times more likely to leave practice than their male counterparts, according to a study published in The Journal of Surgical Research. Closing that retention…
Site neutral payments: Are there winners and losers?

The mantra ‘location, location, location’ in property purchases was supposedly emphasized by Lord Harold Samuel, a British real estate tycoon. Location is also important when Medicare pays for some health care services. Depending on whether services are provided in Hospital…
Study strengthens case for conservative therapy in claudication over early intervention

Early peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) for claudication is associated with higher rates of progression to chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) and major adverse limb events (MALE) compared with conservative medical management, according to data presented at the 2026 annual winter meeting of the…
Introducing the vascular surgery MIPS Value Pathway: A new era for meaningful, specialty-driven quality reporting
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently finalized a new Merit-based Incentive Payment (MIPS) System Value Pathway (MVP) specifically for vascular surgery — an important milestone for our specialty and the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS). Developed by…
Phaedro’s dog and Dr. Oz: Reclaiming physician leadership in health care

The novel I, Claudius, is a historical fiction written by Robert Graves in 1934. Daily life amidst Rome’s political decay during the despotic regimes of Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula is richly described. Claudius’ grandmother was the sinister Livia who manipulated…
Progress with limits: Female surgeons still face uneven playing field

For decades, vascular surgery had few female surgeons. The specialty carved out its territory with increasingly sophisticated techniques, but the operating rooms where surgeons performed carotid endarterectomies and aortic repairs remained overwhelmingly male. Only in recent years have women started…

