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VQI analysis highlights impact of PAD on dialysis access outcomes
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a strong predictor of poor outcomes after hemodialysis access creation, according to a recent study led by Mahmoud Malas, MD, using data from the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI). Vascular Specialist spoke with Malas about the…
Frailty raises amputation, mortality risk after PAD revascularization
Vascular surgeons know that frailty complicates recovery after lower-extremity revascularization. A new study puts precise numbers on exactly how much it costs patients, even after adjusting for age and comorbidities. The findings, published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, come…
Study supports routine vein mapping before CLTI revascularization
Many patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) have suitable great saphenous vein (GSV) for bypass surgery, according to research published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. The findings highlight the importance of routine vein mapping before revascularization. The study was…
Poverty plays growing role in major amputation risk
Major lower extremity amputations were once heavily concentrated in a narrow band of under-resourced, safety-net hospitals. A three-decade national study now shows that burden has spread well beyond those settings and that poverty is a more powerful predictor of limb…
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…