Target 2021: SVS councils and committees drill down on key goals for year ahead...
Ronald L. Dalman
While there is little doubt the pandemic has impacted each vascular surgeon and the SVS as a Society in numerous ways, the...
Target 2021: SVS councils and committees drill down on key goals for year ahead...
Ronald L. Dalman
While there is little doubt the pandemic has impacted each vascular surgeon and the SVS as a Society in numerous ways, the...
Upcoming symposium for fellows: ‘Building a successful vascular practice’
A symposium designed to educate graduating vascular fellows on succeeding in a community or private practice as well as an academic setting is set...
Walking can relieve leg pain in people with PAD
Exercise can play an important role in treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a recent review by Amy Harwood, PhD, from the Centre for Sport and...
Resident Research Award deadline moved to Feb. 17
The deadline for the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Resident Research Award has been extended to Feb. 17—a knock-on effect of the date shift...
Target 2021: SVS councils and committees drill down on key goals for year ahead...
While there is little doubt the pandemic has impacted each vascular surgeon and the SVS as a Society in numerous ways, the commitment and...
Medicare cuts: Avoiding the ‘tragedy of the unprepared’
*The January 2021 issue of Vascular Specialist, which contained this story, went to press prior to the news that Congress had moved to halt cuts to...
Target 2021: SVS councils and committees drill down on key goals for year ahead...
While there is little doubt the pandemic has impacted each vascular surgeon and the SVS as a Society in numerous ways, the commitment and...
Study of patients undergoing AAA repair suggests screening guidelines may be inadequate
A retrospective study analyzing approximately 55,000 patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair suggests current screening guidelines may be inadequate in detecting a significant...
Target 2021: SVS councils and committees drill down on key goals for year ahead...
While there is little doubt the pandemic has impacted each vascular surgeon and the SVS as a Society in numerous ways, the commitment and...
SVS creates much-anticipated DEI Committee
Fulfilling one of the first recommendations—and the highest priority—of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has...
Executive Board commits to DEI changes
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force’s findings and recommendations are taking shape, with some already implemented.
After...
Missing your journals? Be sure your dues are paid
Have you paid your 2021 Society for Vascular Surgery dues? If you haven’t, you’re missing access to all of the latest research in the...
New SVS learning platform due to go live in late January
Educational content will soon be as close as the nearest Internet connection.
SVS OnDemand is slated to go live at the end of this...
Deadlines near for Society, Foundation awards
Applications are due early in 2021 for a number of Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and SVS Foundation awards, honors and grants.
Information on...
Outpatient evaluation and management codes extensively revised
For the first time since 1992, office/outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes have been extensively revised. As of Jan. 1,...
A healing touch
Since March 2020, my life has literally spiraled out of control both personally and professionally. The COVID-19 pandemic shattered my life, and I am...
Inaugural leadership program overcomes pandemic difficulties
The inaugural cohort of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Leadership Development Program had to show some resilience early. Not long after the initiative’s...
Vascular Specialist–January 2021
*The January 2021 issue of Vascular Specialist went to press prior to the news that the dates for VAM had been moved to August,...
Vascular surgery COVID-19 registry participants probe state of practice amid winter surge
The question of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on vascular practice continues to occupy members of the specialty. Contributors to a global vascular surgery registry...
Total endovascular aortic arch treatment shows promise in dissections, but secondary interventions remain ‘Achilles’...
Speaking at the Virtual Aortic Surgery How to Do It Highlights conference (Dec. 17–18), Stéphan Haulon, MD, a vascular surgeon at Hôpital Marie Lannelongue,...
Pre-emptive embolization of aneurysm sac side branches prevents post-EVAR type II endoleak, study finds
According to Daniela Branzan, MD, a senior vascular surgeon at University Hospital Leipzig, in Leipzig, Germany, and colleagues, pre-emptive embolization of aneurysm sac side...
VAM dates shifted to mid-August
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has shifted the 2021 iteration of its flagship conference, the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM), to August in a...
Congress delays steep Medicare payment cuts
Both the House of Representatives and Senate have approved legislation to delay steep cuts to Medicare that were set to take effect Jan. 1,...
Quality initiative: New pocket guides now available
New pocket guides of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) clinical practice guidelines and reporting standards are now available, with printed guides sent to...
Simulation-based training shown to build open vascular surgery skills
A recent systematic review found that “carefully designed and structured” simulation-based training (SBT) in open vascular surgery is effective and can improve technical skills,...
‘Successful’ first-in-human use of the Efemoral scaffold system announced
Efemoral Medical has announced the first-in-human (FIH) use of the company’s Efemoral Vascular scaffold system (EVSS) with FlexStepv technology in the EFEMORAL I FIH...
WIfI score found to be accurate across racial groups
The wound, ischemia and foot infection (WIfI) score is as accurate a predictor of risk for limb loss in Black people as it is...
Revascularization ‘improves’ walking performance in claudicating PAD patients
Revascularization of the lower extremity improves hemodynamics, walking performance, quality of life and calf-muscle pathology in claudicating patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), researchers...
SWEDEPAD unplanned interim analysis shows no difference in all-cause mortality for paclitaxel devices
An unplanned interim analysis of the registry-based SWEDEPAD clinical trial, in which patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) received treatment with paclitaxel-coated (drug-coated balloons...
CMS creates new codes for IVL performed below the knee
Shockwave Medical has announced that as part of the calendar year 2021 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) final rule, the Centers for...
SVS launches inaugural member census
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has launched an Annual Physician Member Census aimed at capturing current issues of importance and the changing demographics...
RelayPlus thoracic stent graft post-approval study reports low operative mortality
Terumo Aortic has announced the midterm results from the RelayPlus thoracic stent graft system post-approval study, revealing low operative mortality and morbidity— supporting its...
COVID-related hypercoagulability linked to elevated malfunction rate in temporary hemodialysis catheters
Hypercoagulability in COVID-19 patients leads to an increase in the malfunction rate of temporary hemodialysis catheters—but heparin locking of the catheters is linked to...
Fund hope with the SVS Foundation
A gift to the SVS Foundation funds not just things—patient education fliers, research awards and community awareness projects—but also hope for a better future....
Vesper Medical announces first enrollment in the VIVID trial
Vesper Medical recently announced initiation of its Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational device exemption (IDE) study, VIVID (Venous stent for the iliofemoral vein investigational clinical trial...
The power of groups: Invest in the SVS PAC
Humans are social animals, and, over time, they have found that their best times are spent in groups. We have just celebrated Thanksgiving, spending...
VAM 2021 taking shape, schedule changes to expand programming
Though many individual components will remain the same, the 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) will have a different look and feel.
"The meeting has...
Present imperfect
On the morning of Nov. 9, I received a phone call from my sister. My father had been found unresponsive in his Manhattan apartment...
The benefits of an academic research career in the VA
Every year a number of graduating vascular trainees look for jobs in academic surgery to develop a career as a surgeon-scientist in basic, translational...
CMS confirms Physician Fee Schedule cuts; SVS members asked to contact lawmakers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) has delivered a blow to vascular surgery in the form of a 7% cut in total...
Dalman to trainees: ‘Vascular surgery is a tremendously rewarding career’
For aspiring vascular trainees, interview season is a time of great stress as well as opportunity. Graduating medical students and residents are preparing the...
Vascular Specialist–December 2020
In this issue:
OBL: Community surgeons talk through surviving private practice in office-based labs (p. 1 and 4)
"Present imperfect": Vascular Specialist medical editor Malachi...
Clarion call: Application deadlines for research awards coming up
Applications for three Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Foundation awards are coming up early in the new year.
The Resident Research Award (Jan. 13,...
Risk of ‘feared’ ischemic steal syndrome comparable for tapered and non-tapered AVGs
In a recent systematic review and meta-analysis, Venkata Sai Jasty, from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tuscon, Arizona, and colleagues found...
OBL: Community surgeons discuss surviving private practice in office-based labs
Outpatient settings like office-based laboratories (OBLs) have attracted increased scrutiny in recent times amid efforts to shine greater light on appropriateness in care. During...
Study: The ‘successful’ operation of TCAR in a community practice setting
A research team in Dallas demonstrated the successful operation of transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR) in a community practice setting, reporting results in line with...
President Dalman reflects on year of adversity—and positive change
The last nine months took away much. The Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) was canceled. The Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) suffered a similar fate—its...
F-BEVAR performed on women shows ‘lower’ level of technical success
Fenestrated-branched endovascular aneurysm repair (F-BEVAR) for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAAs) carried out on women “demonstrate metrics of increased complexity and have a lower level...
Study findings support SVS practice guidelines for surveillance of small AAAs
The low rate of events that occur in small abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) supports continued ultrasound surveillance every three years for aneurysms that measure...
SVS pushes out trio of mobile apps to aid CLTI treatment
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has launched three new mobile apps to help guide surgeons in the treatment and management of chronic limb-threatening...
Audible Bleeding now flows through SVS
The Society for Vascular Surgery would like to welcome the popular Audible Bleeding podcast into its communications family. SVS has reached and executed an...
NESVS outgoing president makes diversity pitch
During the virtual annual meeting of the New England Society for Vascular Surgery (NESVS), outgoing president Marc L. Schermerhorn, MD, called for the NESVS...
Former SVS president named to AMA RUC
The American Medical Association's Board of Trustees has named SVS' longtime coding expert and member Robert M. Zwolak, MD, as the AMA alternative representative...
Frailty still strongly linked to mortality after EVAR for AAA
An analysis of the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) registry for elective abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) revealed that frailty continues to...
Foot vein arterialization study shows 77.8% limb salvage rate
Foot vein arterialization (FVA) is a safe procedure with good early graft patency and a limb salvage rate of 77.8%, Qi Yan, MD, and...
HIFLO RCT finds increased wound closure, high-quality healing using mVASC microvascular tissue graft
Treatment with the mVASC microvascular tissue graft product (MicroVascular Tissues) results in superior wound closure compared to standard of care alone, the first randomized...
Correct billing in severe trauma cases can be complicated
The management of the severely injured trauma patient often requires delicate coordination among multiple specialties, and multiple separate operative procedures are often necessary. In...
Active stent-graft fixation below the renal arteries may have the least effect on aortic...
Stent grafts with active fixation below the renal arteries as well as oversizing by less than 10% seem to have the least effect on...
‘Smile’ to benefit SVS Foundation
The holidays are close upon us, and many Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) members will be shopping online this month and next.
The COVID-19...
Healthcare on a precipice: SVS PAC stands ready to fight coming challenges
Since 2002, the SVS Political Action Committee (PAC) has been a vehicle for advocacy specifically for vascular surgeons. As the only voice geared for...
VOYAGER PAD: Rivaroxaban plus aspirin versus aspirin alone among CLTI patients undergoing revascularization reduced...
In one of the latest sub-analyses from the VOYAGER PAD trial, investigators found that rivaroxaban plus aspirin versus aspirin alone in the high-risk population...
SVS members in the news
Richard Lynn, MD, a vascular surgeon from Palm Beach, Florida, has been elected second vice-president-elect of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
Alan Dardik,...
Dig deep this Giving Tuesday
Will you give on Giving Tuesday? This will be the SVS Foundation’s third year marking the annual global day of giving—Dec. 1, this year—which...
Diabetes Awareness Month: The utility of SVS branding fliers for diabetic foot ulcers
November is Diabetes Awareness Month. The Branding Toolkit can help SVS members promote the valuable care they provide those with the disease.
One of...
SVS details opposition, support to CMS proposed rules
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has submitted comment letters to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on two proposed rules that...
Previously described patient-centered clinical success measure after revascularization for diabetic foot wounds may be...
Patient-centered clinical success after lower-extremity revascularization for people with diabetic foot wounds was achieved among 63% of patients in a new analysis—but researchers suggest...
DETOUR I two-year outcomes: ‘Excellent’ functional improvement in complex PAD cohort
During a late-breaking data session at this year’s Vascular Interventional Advances virtual annual meeting (VIVA 2020) Nov 6–8, Ehrin Armstrong, MD, a professor of...
Abstracts for VRIC, VAM 2021
Calling surgeons and scientists: Your research is wanted. Submission sites are now open for two annual SVS meetings in 2021, the Vascular Research Initiatives...
Case study: Putting the SVS Branding Toolkit into action
William Shutze, MD, a member in community practice in Dallas, has lost no time in putting the new SVS Branding Toolkit to use.
In...
Give people a fair chance and watch the results
Ten years ago when we wrote a paper on diversity that was published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS), it barely caused a...
Intravascular lithotripsy superior to PTA in acute procedural success out to 30 days
The DISRUPT PAD III randomized controlled trial (RCT) provides the largest level-one evidence for the treatment of heavily calcified femoropopliteal arteries, noted William Gray,...
Anatomy of a branding campaign: Making vascular surgery more visible
Members asked; SVS listened. The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has launched a Branding Toolkit to help its members brand the specialty in order...
Latest VOYAGER PAD analysis finds no mortality and improved limb outcomes in drug-coated device...
Given the absence of a safety signal in data from the VOYAGER PAD trial, a new analysis examined the potential benefit of drug-coated device...
Vascular Specialist–November 2020
In this issue:
"Anatomy of a branding campaign: Making vascular surgery more visible"—how the SVS crafted a strategy aimed at elucidating what it is...
New committee needs volunteers
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has extended the deadline for volunteers to apply to its new Communications Committee. The Society is seeking members...
Utilize new SVS Branding Toolkit
The new SVS Branding Toolkit—a robust set of tools designed to help members communicate their roles in comprehensive vascular care—is now available exclusively and...
‘Alea iacta est’: The case for endovascular methods in vascular trauma care
When Benjamin W. Starnes, MD, talks vascular trauma, he does so from a position of certain authority. As the recent Southern California Vascular Surgical...
Janssen applies to FDA for new indication to expand use of rivaroxaban in PAD...
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced today it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the Food and Drug...
‘Fundamental differences’ in outcomes after open AAA detected across three national registries
An investigation of differences in patient outcomes following open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) found in three national registries showed that mortality rates...
New analysis finds DCBs lead to greater four-year survival after fempop revascularization
Patients treated with a paclitaxel-coated balloon saw greater survival, freedom from amputation and amputation-free survival through four-year follow-up after their initial femoropopliteal revascularization operation...
Getinege expands its vascular surgery arm
Getinge is investing €3 million in its manufacturing of polyester grafts and patches to treat aneurysmal and occlusive diseases. The investment aims at increasing...
‘Significant’ value of adding podiatrists to limb salvage alliance
A multidisciplinary limb salvage alliance found that operating room (OR) and clinic volumes as well as work relative value units (wRVUs) all increased significantly...
Help diversity effort by completing member survey
To know where to go, you first have to know the starting point. "We cannot adequately measure our progress in the SVS on diversity, equity...
New JVS associate editor for diversity traces footsteps of her mother
It took Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) associate editor Ulka Sachdev-Ost, MD, a while to realize just how much of an impact her mother’s...
TCT 2020 late-breaking trials session features new data on drug-coated devices
Findings from a series of late-breaking trials in the endovascular field were delivered recently at TCT Connect (Oct. 14–18), the 32nd annual scientific symposium...
SVS makes commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
Following a year of study and including more than 40 separate goals, objectives and requested actions, the SVS Executive Board has received, reviewed and...
SVS PAC: We know who you are—do you know who we are?
Let’s start with our mission statement: We at the SVS Political Action Committee (PAC) exist as the fundraising arm for the advancement of the...
NYC study shows 50% limb salvage rate in COVID-19 patients with ALI during pandemic...
Data gathered from patients presenting with acute limb ischemia (ALI) during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic at the heart of New York City—a...
Quality Payment Program: The proposed updates slated for 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on surgery and medicine continues, prompting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to propose changes in year five...
New society focused on limb preservation unveiled
A new American Limb Preservation Society (ALPS) was launched during the recently concluded Diabetic Foot Conference (DFCon), held virtually this year from Oct. 9–10.
The...
SAVE registry finds Surfacer system safe and effective
The Surfacer Inside-Out access catheter system device (Bluegrass Vascular) is safe and effective for patients with thoracic central venous obstruction requiring central venous access....
With an eye on the past, SVS Foundation looking ahead to stable future
Before we can look to where we’re going, we need to look to where we’ve been. And we do just that, in the pages...
Coming up: VRIC and VAM 2021 submission portals set to open
Abstracts for next year’s Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) will be accepted beginning Nov. 3. VRIC 2021 is held the day before and in...
Freischlag elected as ACS president-elect
Julie Ann Freischlag, MD, the first female president of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), will be the next president of the American College...
‘Nearly nothing’ in surgery will go untouched by AI, ACS Clinical Congress hears
Almost nothing will go untouched by artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare and surgery, notably in the quickly evolving world of vascular and endovascular surgery,...
Science at twilight: Reasserting our democratic responsibility
Thomas Jefferson sat alone in a Philadelphia boarding house. He was nervous; much was riding on the words he would now write. The sovereignty...
SVS: Building bridges between twin tracks of academic and private practice
For Laurel Hadley Hastings, MD, membership in the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) provides a great collection of valuable benefits.
They include an ongoing...
Hodgson: Bringing appropriateness into sharper focus
In 2019, Kim Hodgson, MD, kicked off his presidential year by placing appropriateness and quality of care under the microscope. His turn organizing the...
Vascular Specialist–October 2020
In this issue:
Special interview: Kim Hodgson, MD, discusses his SVS presidency, his appropriateness-in-care agenda, the new SVS SET app, and his post-presidential priorities...
JVS appoints associate editor dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion
The Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) has announced the appointment of a new associate editor for clinical research who will be focused on diversity,...
Flying lesson: King Air 559 Delta Whiskey
This article has little, yet everything to do with surgery. It is about decision-making under adverse circumstances. If you have not listened to the...
CDC codifies CLI, CLTI in ICD-10-CM
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has approved a proposal to distinctly recognize critical limb ischemia (CLI) and critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI)...
Study identifies new genetic factors associated with AAA risk
The American Heart Association (AHA) recently announced the publication of a study identifying 14 new genes linked to an increased risk of abdominal aortic...
Family history risk of AAA ‘increases incrementally’ based on degree of relation
There is an incremental increase in the risk of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) among those with a family history of the disorder based...
Preoperative risk score tool for rAAA 30-day mortality is accurate, new study finds
An entirely preoperative risk-scoring tool for the prediction of 30-day mortality after a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) was found to be accurate after...
Coming soon: VRIC ONLINE 2020
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is offering a virtual Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) ONLINE 2020 featuring abstracts that were intended to be...
Population Health Task Force volunteers needed by Oct. 8
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is seeking volunteers to serve on a task force focused on population health.
Applications are due by Oct. 8.
The...
SVS launches vascular branding toolkit
"Surgery is only part of our story." Or as SVS Public and Professional Outreach Committee chair Joseph Mills, MD, recently put it in a recent...
UK study shows early treatment for leg ulcers leads to better outcomes for patients
To deliver clinical and cost benefits, leg ulcer care pathways should be revised to include early assessment and treatment of superficial venous reflux, researchers...
SVS president ponders challenges in year ahead
New SVS president Ronald L. Dalman, MD, has several initiatives he’d like to see move forward during the year of his presidency.
These include...
VA system delivers high quality services for veterans
Vascular surgery in the Veterans Health Administration has always been a robust service, developing into a mature specialty around the time of the Vietnam...
President Dalman: SVS Appointments Committee confidential
The success of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) in its many missions is driven by the passion and commitment of its members. Each...
Robert W Gore, inventor and chairman emeritus of WL Gore & Associates, dies at...
Robert W. "Bob" Gore, PhD, the man behind expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) and chairman emeritus of the W.L. Gore & Associates board of directors, has...
Open repair linked to higher long-term survival in patients deemed off-label for EVAR
Open repair of aortic aneurysms is associated with higher long-term survival in patients who fall outside the confines of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) instructions...
Study finds low mortality, high complication rates after aortic endograft explantation
The explantation of aortic endografts—associated with high postoperative morbidity, particularly in patients with infected grafts—can be carried out with a low mortality rate, a...
Vascular surgeons encouraged to consult talking points document on paclitaxel devices
Vascular surgeons are being encouraged to take consideration of a set of talking points about the risks and benefits of paclitaxel-equipped devices—which has been...
Vietnam War-era vascular trauma pioneer honored by department he founded
During a storied career, Norman M. Rich, MD, carved out a reputation as a pioneering vascular surgeon—drawing distinction for the creation of the Vietnam...
First patient recruited into study on use of bridging stents in BEVAR procedures
The first patient has been recruited into a trial investigating the BeGraft peripheral plus stent graft system (Bentley InnoMed) as a dedicated bridging stent in...
Claim emerging vascular surgeons ‘less well prepared to rapidly achieve open exposure’ in trauma...
A recent perspective published in the Annals of Surgery—which argued the shift toward endovascular care had led to a deficit in open surgical experience...
Study: 40% of vascular surgeons report suffering chronic work-related pain
A majority of vascular surgeons are in pain after a day of operating—with open and endovascular surgery identified as the types of intervention causing...
Professionalism: #Medbikini through the eyes of an aspiring medical student
The recent furor over the article published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) about unprofessional behavior among recent vascular surgery trainees occasioned a...
Local matters: Three community service honorees in profile
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has honored three members in community practice for their leadership of patients and their local communities, as well...
Through the looking glass: Addressing bias in surgery
The #Medbikini campaign spread like wildfire following the publication of the journal article in question. Reading the manuscript seemed like we crossed the threshold...
Cigarette tax rises lead to drop in active smoking in claudication patients, study finds
Increases in cigarette taxes appear to be an effective strategy to cut active smoking among patients who are undergoing interventions for intermittent claudication, the...
CX Aortic Vienna reveals preoccupation with radiation reduction, showcases latest CT tech
Clockwise from top left: Roger Greenhalgh, Martin Funovics, Rodney White, Ali Azizzadeh and Frank Vermassen
Polling at CX Aortic Vienna points to a high level...
AVF schedules education series for trainees, early-career practitioners
The American Venous Forum (AVF) is to stage a four-part series of educational sessions running the gamut of venous disorders aimed at residents, fellows...
‘No signal of increased risk of long-term mortality’ with paclitaxel-coated Luminor DCB, EffPac trial...
An ad hoc, two-year analysis of the EffPac study found no signal of increased risk of long-term mortality, nor any adverse events, within two years...
New data support televascular visits to help address rural vascular surgery shortage
Researchers from the University of Minnesota unveiled new data supporting televascular consultations as a viable solution to the shortage of vascular surgeons in rural...
Leadership: Spotlight on Amy Reed, MD
This interview continues our series of conversations with national vascular surgery leaders based on topics from the Kouznes and Pozner book “The Truth About...
Coding workshop: Keep the money you deserve
Coding for aneurysm repair, for catheterization, for lower-extremity amputation. Information on modifiers, not to mention reimbursement appeals.
And don't forget new guidelines for Evaluation...
IN.PACT Admiral DCB shows ‘significant advantage’ over uncoated devices in fempop artery treatment analysis
The IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon (DCB) demonstrated a significant advantage in overall survival, amputation-free survival and target-lesion revascularization after femoropopliteal artery treatment through four-year...
Branding: Next SVS Town Hall to be held Sept. 17
The next in the succession of Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Town Halls is coming up next week, focusing in on the branding of...
Letter: ‘Women must not only have a seat at the table, but be heard,...
Dear editor: Submitted with little fanfare to the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery (SCVS) in July of 2019 and accepted later that year in...
SVS ONLINE 2020 meeting returns in series of recordings
Time marches on. Time heals all wounds. If I could turn back time. All of these may be true—but in the case of the...
Look within yourself during turbulent times
There are many strategies people have for surviving turbulent times. At times like these, I am often asked for advice by younger vascular surgeons,...
Ascending aorta: Challenges of obtaining data discussed at CX Aortic Vienna
In the ascending aorta session at CX Aortic Vienna, presentations focused on various treatment options, including frozen elephant trunk (FET) and endovascular intervention. The...
Medicare reimbursement fails to adequately cover cost of care after open bypass surgery among...
For most patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI), Medicare reimbursement for lower extremity bypass surgery does not adequately account for case complexity in the...
Join the fight: The useful job of lobbying members of Congress
Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) members can help in the fight against announced reimbursement reductions included in the calendar year 2021 Medicare Physician Fee...
Action plan: How to help halt sharp cuts to Medicare
They are the sort of cuts the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) says will have a massive impact on vascular surgery practices for years...
Vascular Specialist–September 2020
In this issue:
Special report—"Action plan: How to help halt sharp cuts to Medicare" (p. 1 and 4–5)
"Artery-to-vein AVF technique found to improve...
‘Rapid reduction’ in amputations follows opening of multidisciplinary limb preservation service
A multidisciplinary limb preservation service under the leadership of vascular surgery in a level one trauma center was associated with an immediate and rapid...
VESAP5 available for purchase
The fifth edition of the Vascular Educational Self-Assessment Program (VESAP), with a substantially enlarged section on vascular ultrasound and imaging, is now available for...
A Vascular VISION: Improved patient care
Call it a VISION for improving patient care by being able to see how specific hospitals or institutions perform in terms of long-term patient...
September slate of regional vascular meetings goes digital
This time last year, the ranks of vascular surgery were gearing up to head for points East, West, Midwest and Northeast as the slew...
Inaugural CX Aortic Vienna to take place online
The inaugural CX Aortic Vienna meeting will be livestreamed Sept. 8–11 to an international, online audience, and will include registrant participation, interaction and polling.
The...
Disproportionately more women are affected by depression when pursuing specialty PAD care
A disproportionately higher percentage of women are affected by depressive symptoms when they seek specialty care for new or worsening peripheral arterial disease (PAD)...
High level of heterogeneity found in randomized PAD trial antithrombotic regimens
A recent systematic review showed that randomized trials comparing different types of peripheral endovascular arterial intervention have a high level of heterogeneity in their...
Artery-to-vein AVF technique found to improve hemodynamics, increasing maturation and patency
A new study carried out on both patients and rats shows that artery-to-vein configuration of arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) improves hemodynamics and decreases hyperplasia in...
Six-month IN.PACT AV Access results show superiority of DCB angioplasty
Just-published six-month results of the IN.PACT AV Access study show that drug-coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty is superior to standard angioplasty for the treatment of...
What you don’t know can cost you money
How is your coding knowledge shaping up at present? Are you up to date on modifiers and how to apply them, changes in CPT...
Coding issues: We got you covered
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Coding Committee is best known for its work developing CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes, recommending physician work relative...
Robert B. Smith III: A lifetime of achievement
His was the golden age of vascular surgery, said Robert B. Smith III, MD, recipient of this year’s SVS Lifetime Achievement Award. And he...
Study finds racial disparities in acute stroke thrombectomy management
A new study has found several racial disparities after mechanical thrombectomy for stroke with respect to post-procedure management and outcomes. Vineeth Thirunavu of Northwestern...
Integrated vascular residency recruitment: Start pipeline earlier, engage more deeply
Our great specialty and the patients we serve face an impending critical shortage of vascular surgeons in the decade ahead. The Association of Program...
First patients enrolled in SUPERSURG study of Supera peripheral stent system
ID3 Medical Belgium has announced the first two enrollments in the SUPERSURG study to investigate the safety and efficacy of Abbotts’ Supera peripheral stent...
Diversity, equity and inclusion: Disparities in medicine and vascular surgery
Recent months have yielded a conversation on systemic racism perhaps unlike any other before. We’ve learned about how it manifests across society, how it...
‘Significant’ number of vascular surgery faculty suffer workplace sexual harassment
The Journal of Vascular Surgery August issue featured a paper whose findings established a significant number of faculty of vascular surgery training programs had...
‘If I had gone along the path advised, I would never have become a...
Some of the formative educational experiences described by Olamide Alabi, MD, read like textbook examples of the subtleties many see as baked into U.S....
Doubted as a doctor during mid-flight medical emergency and once asked: ‘Shouldn’t you be...
In a vascular surgery career spanning 20 years, Vincent Rowe, MD, has seen it all: Tending to patients at bedside, the vascular surgical services...
CEA provides inhibitive effect on stroke prevention for eight years over no surgical intervention
Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) has a small but significant effect on stroke prevention through eight years compared with no surgery, investigators who carried out a...
‘Casting a wider net’ when researching genetic and molecular factors of disease
For vascular surgeon and research scientist Elsie Gyang Ross, MD, the world of data science might hold some of the answers to the kind...
‘Improving disparities in healthcare is not a matter of slapping some paint on something...
Andrew Gonzalez, MD, had a heart for underserved and under- resourced communities embedded early. The son of a pediatric hematologist mother who worked at...
Regional anesthesia alone is reasonable for lower extremity amputation in high-risk patients, study finds
A recent study, published online in the European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (EJVES), found that regional anesthesia alone is reasonable for major lower extremity...
Study identifies disparities in early revascularization for symptomatic carotid stenosis
Data from a new study carried out in Texas found disparities in those undergoing early carotid revascularization along gender, race and ethnic lines.
A research...
Vascular Connections–August 2020 (Review Edition)
In this special SVS ONLINE review issue:
"Unveiling an AI-driven risk stratification tool to attain better stroke prediction" (p. 1)
"COVID-19 survey: Support of...
Vascular Specialist–August 2020
In this issue:
A special cover story featuring the latest science and key profiles—"Diversity, equity and inclusion: Disparities in medicine and vascular surgery" (p....
SVS coding course goes virtual amid pandemic
Due to restrictions on live gatherings that are expected to remain in effect, the 2020 Coding & Reimbursement Workshop will be held online.
Through...
Take action to stop projected Medicare surgery cuts
The proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule for 2021 was released Aug. 3 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), revealing vascular...
VQI analysis finds endovascular repair of rAAA superior to open repair
A recent study examining the effect of operative approach on outcomes in patients presenting with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) demonstrated clear short- and...
Sheahan: On professionals and professionalism
On March 19, 2019, I sat in the audience of the scientific sessions at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery...
Joint symposium with UCLA returns in virtual form
From Aug. 15 to 30, UCLA will hold its Fifth Annual UCLA/SVS Symposium: A Comprehensive Review and Update of What's New in Vascular and...
Students/residents: Free webinars and virtual program directory available
In early June, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Resident and Student Outreach Committee held the SVS Pathways to Vascular Surgery Practice 2020: "Planning...
Unveiling an AI-driven risk stratification tool to attain better stroke prediction
It’s one of the most intractable areas of focus in all of vascular disease, and the source of—inarguably, Brajesh K. Lal, MD, emphasizes—the most...
Ultrasound-guided PTA is a ‘valuable tool’ in vascular access stenosis
Routine ultrasound-guided percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is a feasible treatment for native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) dysfunction, according to a recent study by Antonio Granata,...
APDVS responds to #Medbikini, re-avows commitment to diverse workforce
Vascular surgery took the national stage during the last week of July as outraged medical professionals across the country responded to a visual abstract...
Seattle team secures funding to examine COVID-19 impacts on aortic dissection
A team at the University of Washington in Seattle has received a funding award through the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington Engagement...
SVS president, JVS editors respond to controversial paper furor
Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) president Ronald L. Dalman, MD, has pledged that the SVS and its flagship title the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS)...
Study: Stroke risk higher in patients with COVID-19 than influenza
A higher rate of stroke has been reported in adults with COVID-19 compared to a cohort of patients with influenza. A retrospective study published...
Five-year survival after EVAR for ruptured AAA ‘improving’
“The relative survival benefit of EVAR over open repair has increased over time,” conclude Rens R.B. Varkevisser, BS, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,...
Depression linked to more prevalent subclinical atherosclerosis in women with HIV
Women living with HIV who reported a high burden of psychosocial risk factors like symptoms of depression, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were...
SPECIAL REPORT: Vascular surgeons from across world report on early response to pandemic
The seismic impact of the novel coronavirus on vascular surgery across the globe continues to be absorbed. Practice changed, and the specialty pivoted to...
SPECIAL REPORT: Across the world—early impact of COVID-19 on vascular surgeons
COVID-19 has changed our world and surgical practices as vascular surgeons. We have been faced with unforeseen challenges, and the professional impact has been...
SPECIAL REPORT: Reacting to virus in key locations across United States
Following on from part one of our June issue special report in which we explored global perspectives on how vascular surgeons were coping with...
JVS study shows advantages of Ellipsys system in dialysis access creation
A new study shows significant benefits of the Ellipsys vascular access system (Avenu Medical) in easily and safely creating durable vascular access for end-stage...
Surfacer system IDE study results published
Bluegrass Vascular Technologies has announced the publication of the results of its prospective, multicenter SAVE-US (Surfacer system to facilitate access in venous occlusions—United States)...
Vascular surgeons: Avoiding burnout and achieving wellness
Coaching, institutional and cultural changes, advocacy, identifying issues and banding together all can play a part in vascular surgeons’ avoiding burnout and achieving wellness....
COVID-19 survey: Support of hospitals and societies ‘paramount’ to promoting well-being of vascular surgeons
Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic practice, anxiety, coping and support survey for vascular surgeons, recently presented in a Special Scientific Session on COVID-19 during SVS ONLINE on June...
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...
‘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...
‘White male culture in medical school could perpetuate healthcare disparities’
An often omnipresent culture of white male representation in medical schools could "lead even the most well-meaning students to perpetuate healthcare disparities in their...
Time, money and marginal utility
Like most older surgeons, my residency and trauma fellowship years at Grady Hospital— part of Emory University School of Medicine—remain a blur. With frequent,...
Vascular Specialist–July 2020
In this issue:
A Vascular Specialist special report, introduced by medical editor Malachi Sheahan III, MD, focuses on vascular surgery's role in facing up...
French study: Third-gen Anaconda endograft indicates satisfactory five-year exclusion
The third-generation Anaconda endograft from Terumo Aortic provides “high technical success” as well as “satisfactory” five-year aneurysm exclusion and clinical success rates, a French multicenter prospective observational study has...
Patients with large AAAs see higher five-year mortality with EVAR compared to open repair
Large abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair is associated with higher adjusted five-year mortality, reintervention and rupture rates after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR)—but not after...
JVS editors outline successes of past year
Submissions to the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) publications have skyrocketed over the course of 2020, increasing 78% thus far this year. Part of...
Black patients in areas with lowest PAD rates disproportionally at higher risk for amputation
It’s among the most topical areas of discussion in current U.S. cultural life: Black people face disparities in terms of healthcare outcomes. And the...
Counting down till July 15 CME deadline
The SVS ONLINE conference may be firmly fixed in the rearview mirror but attendees are now staring down the barrel of the deadline for...
Dispatches: Opening up a difficult conversation around systemic racism
Recent times have wrought a potent cocktail of cultural disarray on the psyche of the United States. In medicine and vascular surgery, this confluence...
AHA, ISTH release joint statement on future VTE research priorities
The American Heart Association (AHA) and the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) issued a joint scientific statement July 8 outlining research priorities...
Women are at a higher risk of iliac vein stent failure, VESS session hears
A recent study on iliac vein stenting showed lower long-term patency rates for women when compared to their male counterparts. The data were presented...
SVN to host virtual annual meeting July 15
The Society for Vascular Nursing (SVN) 38th Annual Conference—a virtual meeting—will be held from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time Wednesday, July 15.
In...
SVS ONLINE: A meeting of firsts
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) notched up plenty of firsts this year with its virtual meeting, SVS ONLINE: "New Advances and Discoveries in...
SVS ONLINE closing act: Looking into the future of vascular surgery
What’s ahead for vascular surgery? Many changes, both possible and confirmed, according to the final SVS ONLINE session, “Assuring quality in vascular surgical care:...
Endologix enters into agreement with Deerfield Partners to take company private
Endologix has announced that, after evaluating a variety of strategic options, it has initiated a voluntary Chapter 11 case and simultaneously filed a consensual...
Three weeks remain of VQI virtual sessions
SVS ONLINE—the virtual meeting staged by the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS)—may be completed, but the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) virtual sessions have three...
Study: Sirolimus-eluting balloon is a valid treatment for vasculogenic erectile dysfunction
A sirolimus-eluting balloon has been shown to be effective and safe for the treatment of vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED) in a first-in-man study presented...
SVS seeks comments on chronic mesenteric ischemia guidelines by July 8
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is calling for comments on the proposed SVS clinical practice guidelines for chronic mesenteric ischemia. Comments are sought—and should be submitted—by July...
Cannabis use disorder linked to greater odds of perioperative myocardial infarction in vascular surgery...
Active cannabis use disorder was associated with significantly higher odds of perioperative myocardial infarction in vascular surgery patients, researchers reveal.
Furthermore, people with the disorder...
International Lecture: Endovascular colossus discusses new PAD therapy
A new therapy of hydration and oncotic pressure of plasma helped 100% of certain elderly peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients in terms of pain,...
Study shows novel AI technology is better predictor of stroke than traditional methods
Boston-based medical technology company Elucid Bio, maker of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared and CE-marked vascuCAP software, announced Wednesday, July 1, that its...
VQI to discuss quality improvement projects, clinical practice guidelines
The SVS Vascular Quality Initiative will discuss two important topics on Tuesday, July 7: quality improvement projects and the VQI, and clinical practice guidelines.
Gary...
Reminder: Claim CME, MOC credits by July 15
Physicians may obtain Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) self-assessment credits through their participation in SVS ONLINE. MOC credits require physicians...
SVS president to close out virtual conference with focus on quality in vascular care
As SVS ONLINE: "New Advances and Discoveries in Vascular Surgery" prepares to become part of the past, the final presentation will look toward the...
Paper on EVAR for large AAAs named 2020 poster winner
Livia de Guerre, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston has been named winner of this year’s poster contest. This year’s contest...
Outgoing SVS president outlines state of Society diversity
Outgoing Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) president Kim Hodgson, MD, delivered a data-driven insight into diversity within the organization during his June 20 State...
SVS pilots SET app for peripheral artery disease patients
Doctor-prescribed and -supervised exercise therapy is going digital. The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) will begin piloting a ground-breaking app for Supervised Exercise Therapy...
Crawford Forum sets the stage for vascular surgery future
It was an encapsulation of the existential questions surrounding vascular surgery. And it was just as the newly installed Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS)...
SVS joins Surgical Care Coalition in fight against Medicare cuts
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has joined the Surgical Care Coalition as part of a show of solidarity against pending Centers for Medicare...
At your fingertips: Posters, lectures and videos
SVS ONLINE: "New Advances and Discoveries in Vascular Surgery" offers more than just live programming.
The virtual meeting also hosts OnDemand programming: more than 80...
ACC, SVS join forces on single vascular registry
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) are collaborating on a single vascular registry to harness the strengths of...
‘Poor long-term survival’ following explantation of an infected endograft
Paolo Perini, MD, of the University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy, told the audience of SVS ONLINE (June 20–July 2) that explantation of an...
Alarming rate of suicidal ideation among female vascular surgeons warrants urgent intervention, researchers find
Gender-based differences driving career dissatisfaction and burnout exist, viewers of the SVS ONLINE (June 20–July 2) virtual conference heard during the William J. von...
SVS in transition: A look back, a look ahead
Each Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) president wishes for a memorable annual meeting, outgoing SVS president Kim Hodgson, MD, noted during his State of...
Vascular pioneer to present International Lecture next week
Renowned endovascular pioneer Juan C. Parodi, MD, will present the International Lecture at this year’s SVS ONLINE virtual meeting.
He will deliver his address, “Treating...
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...
Save the dates for VQI online sessions
VQI@VAM, the Vascular Quality Initiative’s annual meeting held in conjunction with the Vascular Annual Meeting, will also take a digital format in the wake...
Earn precious CMEs and MOCs at SVS ONLINE
Physician registrants: get a boost on collecting required continuing medical education (CME) and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Self-Assessment credits during SVS ONLINE: “New Advances...
SVS Foundation Board structure changed
The SVS Foundation Board of Directors has altered its infrastructure, including expanding the board and adding seats specifically for public members and changing the...
SVS vice president, treasurer announced on SVS ONLINE opening day
Michael C. Dalsing, MD, has been chosen as the next SVS vice president, joining a line of succession that now includes new president Ronald...
Burning issue: Surgeon wellness occupies central role in ONLINE agenda
As in the past few years, wellness and burnout—and how to mitigate them—remain topics of education and discussion at Society for Vascular Surgery meetings.
This...
Endovascular aortic arch repair with three-vessel inner branches is safe, investigators find
Total endovascular aortic arch repair for aneurysms and chronic dissections using three-vessel inner branch stent-grafts is technically feasible and safe, a multicenter global early...
Study: Decreased complication among EVAR conversion patients anticipated when managed at high-volume aortic centers
Endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) conversion to open aortic repair (OAR) is now an increasingly common indication and associated with greater operative complexity. However,...
CEA found to significantly improve neurocognitive function 30 days after procedure
Revascularization by way of carotid artery endarterectomy (CEA) is linked to significant improvements in neurocognitive function a month post- procedure across multiple domains, a...
President Hodgson to address ‘State of the SVS’
Just don’t call it the Presidential Address: Instead, on Saturday, June 20, SVS President Kim Hodgson, MD, will present a “State of the SVS”...
MHRA: Warning to be added to paclitaxel device IFUs in Europe
In a new field safety notice, the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) states that a warning and clinical summary section will be...
Advocating for our members
COVID-19 has altered almost all of our lives to a degree previously unimaginable. Millions of Americans continue to lose their jobs, hundreds of thousands...
VESAP5 on course to debut this summer
The fifth edition of the Vascular Educational Self-Assessment Program (VESAP), with a substantially enlarged section on vascular ultrasound and imaging, is on course to...
Special COVID-19 session added to SVS ONLINE slate
SVS ONLINE will now feature a session that hones in on the coronavirus pandemic, consisting of nine talks dealing with such issues as acute...
In historic first, SVS holds online officer voting
Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) members voted decisively to change bylaws and permit all eligible voting members to participate in Society business decision-making. The...
Lecture: How remote support systems will transform medical care
The prospect of remote stroke intervention may be the most exciting clinical application among the suite of benefits emerging from the ongoing transformation in...
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...
Letter from NYC: Lessons learned ahead of possible future waves of COVID-19
On March 1, I drove down the Connecticut Turnpike in a rental car with my three sons. We had just left a somber family...
New paradigm in arteriovenous grafts opens up possibility of novel cure for diabetes
A novel twist to arteriovenous graft platforms—traditionally the preserve of hemodialysis—has the ability to open up a new paradigm of treatment across a host...
Von Liebig Forum part of SVS ONLINE opening day
The Vascular Annual Meeting’s scientific sessions traditionally kick off on the Thursday of VAM—opening day of the scientific sessions—with the William J. von Liebig...
Resident Research Award: Extracellular vesicles enhance DVT via RIPK3
Extracellular vesicles enhance deep vein thrombosis (DVT) via receptor interacting protein kinase-3 (RIPK3), the study that claimed this year’s SVS Foundation Resident Research Award...
CX 2020 LIVE: Vascular access session showcases new technologies, debate on place of endovascular...
CX 2020 LIVE’s Vascular Access Consensus panel, including (clockwise from top left): Roger Greenhalgh, Nick Inston, Domenico Valenti, Robert Jones, Robert Shahverdyan and Jennifer...
VESS session to feature during SVS ONLINE
The Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Society (VESS) takes center stage at SVS ONLINE: "New Advances and Discoveries in Vascular Surgery," on Wednesday, June 24.
From...
Vascular Specialist–June 2020
In this issue:
Special report: Vascular surgeons from across the world report on their early experiences dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic (p. 1 and...
SVN virtual annual meeting keynote to focus on self-care
The Society for Vascular Nursing’s 38th Annual Conference is going virtual, from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, July 15. In addition to a series...
Study: Mentoring, social events may decrease burnout in surgery residents
Burnout in surgery residents—associated with higher levels of depression and perceived stress—may be alleviated by programmatic social events, limiting weekend work and formal mentoring...
SVS reports on vascular surgeon concerns over pandemic health impacts
Vascular surgeons from across the country are reporting health impacts on some patients—particularly elderly ones—in quarantine, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) reports. The...
CX 2020 LIVE aortic arch discussion highlights importance of underlying pathology and benefit of...
Roger Greenhalgh (top left), Stéphan Haulon (top right), Ludovic Canaud (bottom left), and Gustavo S. Oderich (bottom right)
Last week, the CX 2020 LIVE agenda...
Shockwave Medical announces new CMS codes for intravascular lithotripsy
Shockwave Medical has announced new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) codes for intravascular lithotripsy (IVL), a procedure performed in peripheral arteries in...
Crawford Critical Issues Forum 2020 echoes founding charge
This year’s E. Stanley Crawford Critical Issues Forum is set to come full circle from its very genesis 32 years ago at the Vascular...
Dispatches: COVID-19 and getting to grips with a new vascular order
At first there was chaos. Then came adaptation and recognition of what was coming down the pipe—followed by assimilation into a new kind of...
BD acquires Straub Medical
Straub Medical, which manufactures, develops and sells medical devices for the treatment of arterial and venous diseases, has been acquired by Becton, Dickinson and...
SVS issues statement abhorring injustice and violence amid unrest in US
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and the Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery (APDVS) today issued a joint statement in support of...
Nearly 70% of CX 2020 LIVE global aortic audience finds type II endoleak without...
A global audience tuned into the second session and inaugural aortic offering of CX 2020 LIVE. With registrations now well over 4,000, the pioneering virtual...
Researchers: No benefit for doxycycline used to avoid surgery for AAA
A new study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore found that patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)...
SVS acknowledges industry partners springing to aid of vascular community
It has recently come to the attention of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) that many of our industry partners are generously donating equipment...
CX 2020 LIVE pioneers virtual vascular conference format in COVID-19 era
CX 2020 LIVE came to life online—despite COVID-19—using state-of-the art broadcast technology to bring together more than 1,000 vascular specialists, live, from 95 countries across...
SVS ONLINE: Virtual program and associated events take shape
Planning continues unabated for the highly anticipated SVS ONLINE, set to kick off June 20 and run through July 2 in lieu of the...
Coding event set to take place Sept. 25–26
Registration has opened for the 2020 iteration of the Society for Vascular Surgery's Coding and Reimbursement Workshop scheduled to take place from Sept. 25–26....
Preparing for arrival of CMS Quality Payment Program year 4
It’s here: 2020 is year four of the Quality Payment Program (QPP), established by the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act...
Study cites drop in aortic dissection cases in NY during pandemic
In a recently-published study, researchers found a significant drop in acute aortic dissection cases in New York City since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study—”The...
AHA issues call to action to prevent VTE in hospitalised patients
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the leading cause of preventable hospital death in the U.S. and worldwide. A new policy statement from the American Heart...
Your SVS: Membership deadline is June 1
The next membership application deadline for 2020 is June 1. Be part of all SVS has to offer its members, including the online community...
Dispatches: Vascular surgery and pandemic redeployment in New Orleans
At one point in the COVID-19 pandemic timeline, New Orleans was in a perilous position. In late March, the Louisiana governor reported that the...
SVS ONLINE: How VAM program was transformed for virtual alternative
How do you turn a live event for thousands of participants and exhibitors into a trimmed-down, online experience? Carefully, and not easily.
“We got here...
VESAP5 debuting by Aug. 1
The fifth edition of the Vascular Educational Self-Assessment Program (VESAP) will be available before the beginning of August, when VESAP4 expires.
The online program, with...
Positive two-year data from ALPS registry of LimFlow system published
LimFlow SA today announced publication of positive two-year data from the ALPS registry of the LimFlow percutaneous deep vein arterialization (pDVA) system. Results were published...
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,...
Herbert Dardik, vascular luminary and lower-extremity bypass pioneer, dies at 84
The vascular surgery world has lost one of its leading lights. Herbert Dardik, MD, a giant of the specialty renowned for his innovative work...
CX 2020 LIVE: Charing Cross Symposium unveils live, interactive digital event
The Charing Cross (CX) Symposium, with its world-class faculty and unique focus on live audience participation, has announced the launch of a not-to-be missed...
TOBA III clinical trial results published
Intact Vascular has announced the peer-reviewed publication of its Tack optimized balloon angioplasty (TOBA) III 12-month clinical trial results in the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
The multi-center, single-arm,...
Vascular Specialist–May 2020
In this issue:
Special cover feature chronicling the first set of SVS Town Halls convened in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic (p. 1...
Vascular science webinar slated for May 28
Editors across the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) group of journals are staging a special webinar Thursday, May 28, at noon (EST) on hot...
Mark your calendars: Latest SVS peer support call coming up
Vascular surgeons are being encouraged to join the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Wellness Task Force, fellow SVS members and SurgeonMasters on May 28...
VIVA Physicians publishes analysis evaluating mortality and paclitaxel-coated devices
An individual patient-level data (IPD) analysis of the safety of paclitaxel-containing devices (PTXD), conducted by VIVA Physicians, identified an absolute 4.6% increased mortality risk...
Registry launches pair of studies on vascular complications related to COVID-19
The new Vascular Surgery COVID-19 Collaborative (VASCC) is ready to start collecting data on two projects.
The first study to emerge from the international registry,...
Terumo Aortic gains FDA approval for Treo endovascular device
Terumo Aortic has been granted Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the Treo abdominal aortic stent-graft system to be sold in the U.S.
The...
Report: Safely executing CEA during COVID-19
A carotid endarterectomy (CEA) carried out on a 71-year-old stroke patient who tested positive for COVID-19 is highlighted in a recent case report as an...
COVER study aims to capture impact of COVID-19 on global vascular surgery
The COVID-19 vascular service (COVER) study, a multinational, prospective, observational study that is aimed at capturing the impact of the pandemic on global vascular...
SVS ONLINE: Carving out virtual version of VAM invited sessions amid COVID-19
As Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Postgraduate Education Committee chair Vikram Kashyap, MD, tells it, the organizers behind programming for the Vascular Annual Meeting...
Dispatches from the vascular front: A vascular nursing perspective in times of COVID-19
For almost the first month after COVID-19 hit New Orleans with a vengeance, vascular nurse Jayme Boudreaux, APRN, found herself largely stuck at home,...
Dispatches from the vascular front: Embracing telemedicine in COVID-19 era
DALLAS—William P. Shutze, MD, has not long since finished his day's practice—a shift in which he carried out somewhere in the region of 13...
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...
‘Risk prediction models can be used for targeted screening for asymptomatic carotid stenosis,’ researchers...
Most prediction models can “reliably” identify individuals at high risk of significant asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS), a new study shows.
Michael H. F. Poorthuis, MD,...
Med students: Q&A webinar on vascular specialty slated for May 13
An event aimed at attracting medical students to the vascular specialty has been organized by the Society of Vascular Surgery (SVS), the Vascular and...
SVS ONLINE: Call for pandemic-focused late-breaking abstracts
Over the course of the summer, SVS ONLINE will provide attendees with an innovative program featuring both live webinars and on-demand sessions. The event...
Telemedicine gets shot in arm from COVID-19
Unintended consequences of COVID-19 are likely to pop up in an untold number of ways. Perhaps one of them could be the more widespread...
CMS outlines recommendations for re-starting non-emergent procedures
On 18 March, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recommended “limiting non-essential care and expanding surge capacity into ambulatory surgical centers and...
Global vascular community addresses geographic disparity in COVID-19 impact and response
LONDON—Last week, the Charing Cross (CX) Symposium 2020 would have taken place in the U.K. capital. To mark the occasion virtually, experts from across...
‘Excellent’ long-term results after EVAR using Endurant stent graft in 180 AAA patients
Results from a real-world experience over more than 10 years using the Endurant stent graft (Medtronic) demonstrate that it is safe and effective,...
Dispatches from the vascular front: COVID-19 strikes New Jersey like ‘tidal wave’
Operating in the shadow of New York City, Clifford M. Sales, MD, has had his finger on the pulse of North America's two worst-affected...
Final push: SVS COVID-19 needs assessment survey closes April 24
The SVS Wellness Task Force today announced a final push for respondents to the Society's COVID-19 needs assessment survey. The initiative, designed to help...
First US commercial use of Tack Endovascular System in BTK arteries announced
Intact Vascular has announced the first commercial use of its Tack Endovascular System (4F) in multiple sites across the United States.
Notably the first Food...
VenaSeal superior for management of chronic venous insufficiency, finds systematic review
According to a network meta-analysis, the VenaSeal system by Medtronic is “a promising therapeutic option for anatomic success at six months.” The study, published...
COVID-19: Ventilator manufacturers unite to form training alliance
Several of the world’s ventilator manufacturers have formed a Ventilator Training Alliance (VTA) in partnership with Allego to create a mobile app that frontline...
FDA grants Nexus aortic arch stent graft system breakthrough designation
Endospan was recently granted breakthrough device designation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Nexus aortic arch stent graft system.
The FDA’s breakthrough...
Dispatches from the vascular front: Early steps beyond COVID-19 peak in Seattle
If Seattle and the broader state of Washington provided the vascular care blueprint for how to proceed once the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread...
COVID-19: Pandemic lessons for vascular care from military theater
An exemplar of how surgery can best perform its role amid a catastrophic event like the COVID-19 pandemic can be found in military medicine’s...
Dispatches from the vascular front: Consequences of COVID-19 on a Florida private practice
The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have landed like a sledgehammer on vascular surgery, reducing much of practice to a standstill. For those in...
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,...
SVS remains nimble in face of spreading pandemic, pivots to member priorities
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) started 2020 with plans intensifying for the Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) in May, the Vascular Annual Meeting...
COVID-19: Cotton and surgical masks may be ineffective at stopping spread of virus through...
In a brief report in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Seongman Bae, MD, of the Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine,...
Dispatches from the vascular front: A view of COVID-19’s impact on hard-hit NYC
Sharif Ellozy, MD, has had just about as near to a front row seat as it gets to the part of the United States...
Vascular Specialist–April 2020
In this issue:
Benjamin W. Starnes, MD, and Niten Singh, MD, report from Seattle in "COVID-19: Focusing minds on need to act as virus...
SVS Wellness Task Force launches COVID-19 member survey
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Wellness Task Force has launched an anonymous member survey in a bid to better support vascular surgeons as...
First patient enrolled globally in SELUTION SLR study for AV fistulae
The objectives of this prospective, randomized, single-blind multicenter study are to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of SELUTION SLR in the treatment of failed...
New COVID-19-focused vascular registry gains IRB approval
A new vascular surgery registry launched to leverage key data gathered in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic—and aimed at helping prepare for the...
Official: SVS cancels VAM
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has officially pulled the plug on the 2020 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) scheduled to take place in Toronto...
Philips and US government collaborate in ventilator production ramp up to combat COVID-19 pandemic
Royal Philips has announced that the US government and Philips agreed to team up to increase the production of hospital ventilators in its manufacturing...
TCAR outperforms transfemoral carotid artery stenting, ‘significantly’ lowering stroke and death risk
A study that set out to determine whether there was a lesser stroke or death risk by deploying transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR) over the...
Leadership figures ruminate on redeployment of vascular surgeons as COVID-19 surges
It's an issue increasingly knocking on the door of program directors and section chiefs in hospitals across the country as COVID-19 cases escalate in...
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...
Open AAA repair volume appears to be more impactful on outcomes than years of...
PALM BEACH, Fla.— The more open aortic repair (OAR) case volume vascular surgeons take on, the more it seems to be “impactful” on OAR...
Of moral distress, coronavirus and implications for burnout
Moral distress has been described as “as a phenomenon in which one knows the right action to take but is constrained from taking it.”1...
Study: Link between IC revascularization and progression to CLTI established alongside rising rate of...
PALM BEACH, Fla.—Revascularization of intermittent claudication (IC) patients is associated with an increased rate of progression to critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI)—as well as an...
Vascular surgeons discuss COVID-19 impact on pregnancy, family, career
The devastating effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic are multifarious and far-reaching, touching both life and limb themselves as well as less tangible aspects...
CMSS urges strong action ‘to ensure safer working conditions’ for frontline medical professionals
In a new statement published on April 2, 2020, all 45 societies represented by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS)—over 800,000 physicians—emphatically declared their...
Aortic neck dilation after FEVAR leads to little clinical impact, new mid-term study data...
MIAMI—Data, gathered in a study on the impact of aortic neck dilation after fenestrated endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (FEVAR), show that the process does...
Medical device companies join fight against COVID-19
Medtronic is sharing an older version of its Puritan Bennett ventilator for free in a bid to help ramp up production of the key...
ACS defends healthcare workers as PPE shortages lead to acrimony
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) today leapt to the defense of healthcare workers who are heading to work in the face of increasing...
Update on VAM 2020 issued by SVS
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has placed members on notice that the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) slated for June 17–20 in Toronto looks...
Call for older physicians to be protected from COVID-19
Hospitals and government health departments should give careful consideration to the protection of older physicians and nurses in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,...
CMS announces temporary waivers that include expansion of telehealth coverage
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a series of temporary regulatory waivers and new rules designed to help the U.S....
Elder statesman of venous disease delivers golfing metaphor for fortitude, wellness
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla.—As a podium talk at the annual meeting of the American Venous Forum (AVF), it represented a bit of an outlier. It...
‘Desperate times require desperate measures,’ SVS Town Hall on COVID-19 hears
The imperatives of preserving personal protective equipment (PPE) in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic were given a robust airing during a Society for...
Future is now: Surgical simulation utilizing 3D printing has potential to help cut medical...
HOUSTON—The picture as Jonathan Stone, MD, describes it couldn’t be more stark. Medical error, according to recent publications, he says, now sits at third...
Clopidogrel exposure along with aspirin and rivaroxaban should be ‘minimized or avoided’ in PAD...
“More bleeding with background clopidogrel, even if not severe by adjudication, may be associated with broad consequences, including discontinuation of therapies. In the absence...
Study suggests 90% of aortic aneurysm papers do not reveal physician conflicts of interest
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.— Almost 90% of authors who received industry-reported payments did not disclose a financial conflict of interest in their manuscript, a study...
Combining aspirin with rivaroxaban reduces risk equally in presence or absence of diabetes
In stable atherosclerosis, a combination of aspirin plus rivaroxaban provided a similar relative degree of benefit on coronary, cerebrovascular and peripheral endpoints in patients...
Consensus statements: Use of intravenous contrast media in kidney disease patients not as great...
The reputed risk of administering modern intravenous iodinated contrast media in patients with reduced kidney function has been “overstated.”
That is the headline takeaway from...
Aspirin plus rivaroxaban significantly lowers adverse events in PAD revascularization
Treatment with aspirin plus rivaroxaban following lower-extremity revascularization in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) leads to a 15% reduction in the risk of...
STABLE II results published on endovascular treatment of acute complicated TBAD with Cook Zenith
Thirty-day and one-year data from the STABLE II study have been published in the April 2020 issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) by Joseph V....
COVID-19 special: How to be a doctor at the end of the world
Vascular Specialist medical editor Malachi Sheahan III, MD, is no stranger to national and international emergencies—from New York City during both the 1990s AIDS...
Integrity of clinical trials should be ‘preserved’ in face of COVID-19
Efforts and resources should be directed toward continuing randomized clinical trials in spite of the specter of the coronavirus pandemic. This is because of...
Vascular surgeons will survive these ‘troubled waters,’ says SVS president
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is a "solidly built bridge" across the troubled waters of the coronavirus pandemic, president Kim Hodgson, MD, today...
Prominent Seattle hospital issues COVID-19 clinical practice guidelines for vascular surgery
A prominent hospital operating on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington state has released a set of clinical practice guidelines for vascular...
Physician-developed respirator device offers one possible solution to PPE shortages
Surgeons and other healthcare professionals aren’t hanging around waiting for depleted personal protective equipment (PPE) to be replenished. Amid COVID-19-related shortages, ingenuity, creativity and...
American College of Surgeons releases new clinical guidance document for elective surgical case triage...
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has issued guidance for surgeons to curtail recommendations for elective surgical procedures to preserve the necessary resources for...
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...
National emergency loosens restrictions on use of telemedicine, says VESS secretary
Performance of telemedicine has been made easier and more accessible after regulations and limitations on its use were waived in the wake of the...
VESS: Vascular surgeons urged to avoid admissions not ‘immediate’ threat to life and limb...
Vascular surgeons have been urged to support the health of the entire U.S. population “by immediately reducing resource expenditure, avoiding all surgical admissions unless...
Vascular Specialist–March 2020
In this issue:
‘No evidence’ to suggest spinal cord injury is decreased by prophylactic drainage during EVAR procedures: Cover story on Gustavo S. Oderich...
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...
Straub Medical announces first patient treated in US with Rotarex S atherectomy device
Straub Medical, the US direct-sales subsidiary of Swiss outfit Straub Medical AG, has announced the launch and first intervention performed with the Rotarex S...
Letter from Seattle: Amid COVID-19 pandemic, time to act is long past due
SEATTLE—We live in unprecedented times. On Jan. 19, patient zero arrived in the United States at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after returning from a visit...
FDA official delivers government agency’s early reaction to latest contentious meta-analysis on paclitaxel-coated devices
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.—A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official delivered a talk which represents the government agency’s earliest public reaction to the latest meta-analysis suggesting...
‘There is no perfect job’: Benefits of working across VA system outlined by current...
Many believe the adage, “There is no perfect job.” If your list of “musts” for a career in vascular surgery includes working with a...
NICE aortic guidelines recommend discussion between physician and patient before offering any treatment
The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has today published guidelines on abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) diagnosis and management. Discussion between...
National Kidney Foundation releases guideline for vascular access in dialysis patients
The American Journal of Kidney Diseases (AJKD) has published the National Kidney Foundation’s KDOQI Clinical Practice Guideline for Vascular Access: 2019 Update, a completely revamped set...
Study: Lumbar spine stabilization surgery may be a risk factor in symptomatic venous outflow...
Lumbar spine stabilization surgery may be a risk factor in the development of symptomatic venous outflow obstruction lesions, a study published in the Journal...
Updated USPSTF recommendations on screening for AAAs remain faithful to 2014 guidance, adding new...
Updated recommendations on screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) remain consistent with the 2014 guidance while incorporating new evidence.
The United States Preventive Services Task...
Elevated risk of AAAs among individuals suffering depression post-risk factor adjustment discovered in HUNT...
People with depressive symptoms have a significantly higher risk of incident abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) after adjustments for established risk factors, a study published...
Cost of burnout on physician health and surgical performance explored
NEW YORK—It’s the recurring theme on the conference circuit that stubbornly refuses to subside but one whose toll is great and lasting. At the...
Minority of patients in population of 4M demonstrate rapid progress of carotid stenosis, SAVS...
PALM BEACH, Fla.—While the overall incidence of rapid carotid stenosis progression is low, patients who show any degree of a worsening condition may warrant...
Faith and flaw: The replication crisis is here
In 2011, a new research study proved the existence of precognition, also known as Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP). The manuscript was published in the Journal...
Deep venous stenting presents advantage over ablation in achieving better ulcer healing rates, AVF...
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla.—“Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) secondary to deep venous stenosis represents a distinct class of patients who require a unique treatment paradigm,” stated...
Sternbergh: On his journey of self-awareness, overcoming tragedy and achieving work-life balance
PALM BEACH, Fla.—In an address that ran the gamut of emotions—from success to tragedy and back again—W. Charles Sternbergh III, MD, may have delivered...
Presence of outpatient wound care center leads to significant decrease in amputation rates, says...
NEW YORK—The opening of an outpatient wound care center has a positive impact on affiliated vascular surgery practice, with a significant increase in the...
Early adaptation of SVS, STS TBAD joint document will drive robust body of work...
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) recently published a joint document on reporting standards for type B...
Newly FDA-approved device for central venous occlusions hailed as exciting advance
HOUSTON—These are exciting times in the theater of dialysis access, expert in the field Eric Peden, MD, mused in the latter part of last...
How will coronavirus impact medical education?
The meeting, the seminar and the symposium: Collectively, this triumvirate of forum types forms one of the core elements of postgraduate medical education. These...
Bridging the gap to future surgical success: Surgeon-coaches can help colleagues thrive
What is surgical coaching? The Institute for Life Coach Training defines coaching as a professional relationship that helps people produce extraordinary results in their...
Medical education requires a reboot in the digital age, argues stent-grafting pioneer
LAS VEGAS—Medical education is confronted by huge opportunities with the coming of what has been termed the fourth industrial revolution—that of the intersection where...
March 2020 is vascular recruitment month
Much has been made of the impending shortage of physicians in the United States, with ominous predictions that it could come as soon as...
Patients with asymptomatic severe carotid stenosis may be successfully managed medically, researchers find ‘relatively...
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.—High-risk patients with asymptomatic severe carotid stenosis may be successfully managed medically, delegates at the winter meeting of the Vascular & Endovascular...
Integration of 3D imaging and optimized 3D robotic control set to be ‘important’ part...
NEW YORK—The marriage of 3D imaging and robotics in hybrid operating suites promises to be a pivotal aspect of the future in vascular surgery—part...
‘No evidence’ to suggest spinal cord injury is decreased by prophylactic drainage during EVAR...
MIAMI—Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage is a key component in the treatment of spinal cord injury but the evidence that prophylactic drainage decreases such injury...
New meta-analysis finds ‘no observed difference’ in mortality between paclitaxel and uncoated device use...
February 2020 brings another paclitaxel device meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) patients. Krystal Dinh, BMed, of Westmead Hospital, Sydney,...
FDA keeps close watch on heparin dosing reports
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is closely monitoring reports of higher than usual doses of heparin being required to achieve activated clotting times...
Drug-coated technology question aired during SAVS opening session
PALM BEACH, Fla.—Discussion of the drug-coated technology issue was piqued during the opening session of the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery (SAVS) annual meeting...
CMS publishes 2020 round of coding changes for vascular surgeons
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided some light reading with the publication of the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), Hospital Outpatient...
SVS and STS release new reporting standards for type B aortic dissections
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) have released new reporting standards to ensure patients with type B...
‘Cardiovascular disease at crossroads’: practitioners call for a definitive randomized trial comparing precision medicine...
The prospect of death rates from cardiovascular disease once again ticking upward after more than a half century of decline has led to a...
Initial results from first-in-man trial of prosthetic VenoValve demonstrate promise, says investigator
PALM BEACH, Fla.—The initial results of an ongoing first-in-man study in Colombia that saw the implantation of a prosthetic venous valve in 15 patients...
SVS president presents point-by-point defense of Society position on paclitaxel controversy
NEW YORK—Kim Hodgson, MD, president of the Society for Vascular Surgery, delivered a robust defense of the SVS position on the drug-coated balloon (DCB)...
Hotly-contested meta-analysis suggests a higher risk of death or amputation at one year when...
A new meta-analysis, just published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR), suggests significantly reduced amputation-free survival at one year when paclitaxel-coated...
Alucent Biomedical announces FDA approval to proceed with natural vascular scaffolding clinical trial
Alucent Biomedical has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to proceed with a phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and...
‘Alarming rate’ of severe cerebrospinal fluid drain complications discovered in first-stage TEVAR and F-BEVAR...
Severe complications from placement of cerebrospinal fluid drains (CSFD) during first-stage thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) and fenestrated-branched endovascular repair (F-BEVAR) of pararenal and...
Meta-analysis: Translumbar embolization is superior to transarterial procedure in treatment of post-EVAR type II...
Translumbar embolization had a greater technical efficacy than its transarterial equivalent in the treatment of type II endoleaks after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), according...
Dramatic decline in open AAA repair training among trainees stokes strong concern over future...
NEW YORK—The dramatic shift away from open surgery toward an endovascular approach has landed vascular practice at a stark crossroads, attendees at the VEITHsymposium...
Regulatory unity can help drive medical device adoption globally, FDA official says
LAS VEGAS—Efforts at international collaboration across borders can drive harmony among disparate regulatory requirements and lead to greater global cooperation at the medical device...
When world vascular societies combined to produce new global guidelines for chronic limb-threatening ischemia
Four years ago, vascular experts from around the world were tasked with a quest to get all surgeons and providers to agree on the...
AAA diameter could have crucial implications for patient outcomes
The diameter of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) may have an important clinical impact on patient outcomes, according to a study of cases contained...
View, Review VAM at Home with VAM on Demand Library
The inability to be in two places at one time makes VAM On Demand an essential component of the Vascular Annual Meeting.
ISerg Creative/Getty Images...
How to Earn Your CME, MOC Credits from VAM
Physician registrants can get a big boost in collecting required Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) self-assessment credits at the Vascular...
‘Good Outcomes Not Good Enough’
A tradition at the Vascular Annual Meeting, the E. Stanley Crawford Critical Issues Forum is organized by the incoming SVS President and devotes itself...
Change Doesn’t Come Easy! But Is Needed
In selecting the subject of his presidential address, SVS President Michel Makaroun, MD, decided to focus on the inadequacy of vascular manpower to meet...
Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgeons Providing Alternative Perspectives
Cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons will – together – head for the top during the Aortic Summit, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The event is...
Annual Business Meeting, for Members Only
Electing Secretary, Welcoming President, Presenting Awards
The SVS Annual Business Meeting serves a vital, mandated function, with members conducting important Society business. This year, not...
Is Surveillance Futile for Small AAAs in the Very Elderly?
To determine the necessity of permanent monitoring of small aortic aneurysms in the elderly, Mark Rockley, MD, of the Ottawa Hospital and his colleagues...
Early Outcomes To Be Presented From ROADSTER 2
Vikram S. Kashyap, MD, of the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, will present results from ROADSTER 2, a prospective, multicenter, postapproval registry for patients...
Lifetime Achievement, Innovation Award On Tap
Three of the Vascular Annual Meeting’s signature events – celebrations along with distinguished lectures – occur on Saturday, VAM’s closing day. All conveniently occur...
Malnutrition Exacerbated Outcomes in Frail Elderly Patients Treated for PAD
Frailty increasingly has been seen as a factor in procedural outcomes, including vascular surgery. Nutrition factors among older adults have also become an issue...
Everyone Can Participate in Gala Silent Auction
After months of planning, the day is finally here! Friday evening, 500 people will be living the high life at the “Vascular Spectacular” gala,...
National Survey Examines the Extent, Effects of Pain in Vascular Surgeons
Work-related pain and disability have been reported in the literature among various surgical specialties and can influence surgeon productivity and burnout. In Friday’s Scientific...
Burnout Among Vascular Surgeons – A Report From the SVS Wellness Committee
Physician burnout has been linked to medical errors, decreased patient satisfaction, and reduced career longevity. In light of the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular disease,...
Gender Disparity and Sexual Harassment in Vascular Surgery Practices
Sexual harassment is known to be more pervasive in male-dominated workplaces and flourishes in a climate of tolerance and culture of silence, according to...
Vascular Live
Come see exhibitors present new ideas, showcase new technologies, and discuss the latest trends in vascular surgery. All Vascular Live events will take place...
Exhibit Hall: The Place to Be for Food, Fun, Education
The Exhibit Hall is an integral part of the Vascular Annual Meeting. All members of the vascular team, as well as other attendees, will...
Focus on Office-Based Care
This year’s VAM features an exhibit pavilion, special Vascular Live presentations, and a breakfast session geared specifically to clinicians who work in office and...
Macrophages, Regulation, and Impaired Diabetic Wound Healing
Nonhealing wounds in patients with diabetes are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and are increasing at an alarming...
Experiences with the BEST-CLI trial
As the BEST-CLI (Best endovascular vs. best surgical therapy in patients with critical limb ischemia) trial enters its last phase of new patient enrollment,...
In Memoriam: Dr. John Ochsner
John Lockwood Ochsner, MD, (1927-2018), a world-renowned heart surgeon, will be remembered as a charismatic and skilled surgeon, a dedicated teacher, a loving father,...
Welcoming a New President, Presenting Awards
The Vascular Annual Meeting conducts important Society business at the SVS Annual Business Meeting. During Saturday’s meeting and luncheon, President R. Clement Darling III,...
A Six-Year Review of the First U.S. Vascular Simulation Course
Duty hour restrictions, changing training paradigms, and diminishing open surgical case volumes have caused dramatic shifts in the vascular trainee experience, according to Malachi...
Crawford Critical Issues Forum Covers the National Shortage of Vascular Surgeons
This year’s E. Stanley Crawford Critical Issues Forum addressed the current status of the vascular surgery workforce, its existing geographic distribution, the potential for...
Preop Cognitive Issues and Surgery Type Affect Postop Delirium
Postoperative delirium has a high prevalence among vascular surgery patients, increasing morbidity, mortality and length of stay (LOS),according to Rima G. Styra, MD, and...
Transcarotid vs. Transfemoral Carotid Artery Stenting in the SVS Vascular Quality Initiative
The Safety and Efficacy Study for Reverse Flow Used during Carotid Artery Stenting Procedure (ROADSTER) multicenter trial reported the lowest stroke rate in high-risk...
Don’t Miss Practice Management Tips for Novice and Seasoned Surgeons
Young vascular surgeons looking to make their marks and balance their lives, as well as more experienced surgeons seeking tips for more effective practice...
Mix and Mingle at Friday’s Closing Reception
Mark the closing of the Exhibit Hall by attending the Closing Reception, set for 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday in the Auditorium on Level...
Learn About Vascular Training Programs at Residency Fair
For those considering a career as a vascular surgeon, deciding on a training program is an important decision. Should it be a vascular fellowship...
Advanced Practice Providers Vital to Vascular Team
The team approach has changed the entire field of medicine in the past 10-20 years and, in fact, is critical to optimal patient outcomes....
Closing Reception for Exhibit Hall
Friday evening’s Closing Reception, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. offers the final chance to visit the Exhibit Hall and talk with vendors, get information...
Visit the Residency Fair
Simon and Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair,” the “State Fair” of movie fame, Bruce Springsteen’s “County Fair” that will attract everybody in town. And the SVS...
Session for Young Surgeons
Young vascular surgeons can get guidance on successfully trans