SVS recognizes leaders in community vascular practice at VAM 2026

Each year the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) honors a member with the Excellence in Community Practice Award, recognizing outstanding leadership shown by a practicing vascular surgeon within their community. The honor recognizes sustained contributions to patients, exemplary professional practice and community leadership. 

This year the SVS named two recipients. Dipankar Mukherjee, MD and Robert Tahara, MD, received the award at VAM 2026 during the Section on Ambulatory Vascular Care (SAVC) session on June 12. The awards were presented by Anil Hingorani, MD, immediate past chair of the SAVC and Geetha Jeyabalan, MD, the section’s current chair. 

Hingorani, an assistant professor at Mount Sinai Medical Center and SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn who practices at the Vascular Institute of New York, said the two winners reflect decades of dedication to the field. 

“These two winners have demonstrated their commitment for decades to vascular surgery by bringing new innovative technologies, techniques and tools to their respective communities,” said Hingorani. “They have consistently demonstrated exemplary professional practice and leadership and are shining beacons for vascular surgeons dedicated to their patients.” 

Jeyabalan, who leads MedStar Health Vein Centers in Annapolis, Maryland, explained what sets award recipients apart from their peers. 

“The Excellence in Community Practice Award is meant to highlight individual vascular surgeons who have gone above and beyond their daily work to provide leadership and service to their local communities,” said Jeyabalan. “In addition to practicing vascular surgery, they are surgeons who advocate for their local patient population and implement programs or services that help advance their community's health and collaborate with local organizations to do so.” 

Mukherjee's record spans 32 years in Northern Virginia, including the past decade as chief of vascular surgery at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church. He has introduced advanced treatment options for abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms and built a reputation for strong outcomes performing carotid endarterectomy under regional block. Mukherjee has contributed a significant number of patients to the CREST-2 trial, authored numerous publications and lectured nationally on preventing harm in patients with claudication. 

“Dr. Mukherjee has spent four decades dedicated to providing excellent care to his northern Virginia community through educational programs and cutting-edge vascular surgery,” said Jeyabalan. “He has blended teaching residents in the setting of a community program, and his interest in delivering high-quality outcomes in the full spectrum of vascular care has remained consistent throughout his career.” 

Tahara's career in rural Pennsylvania has also made its mark in vascular care. From 2002 to 2023, Tahara served as the only full-time vascular surgeon across a roughly 90-mile radius, serving dozens of small communities with a combined service area of nearly 100,000 people. Before he arrived, patients traveled to Pittsburgh or Erie, Pennsylvania, or Buffalo, New York, for vascular care — trips that can take up to three and a half hours by car one way. 

Tahara held active surgical privileges at Bradford Regional Medical Center from 2002 to 2023 and has practiced at Meadville Medical Center since 2018, bringing clinical innovations to both facilities despite their modest rural size, while staying active in research, leadership and national advocacy for the specialty. 

“Dr. Tahara is a tireless advocate for the independent private practice model in an outpatient setting for vascular surgeons,” said Jeyabalan. “He brings the latest technical advancements to his local rural community and innovates new techniques to expand the field as a whole. He continues advocating for the vascular surgery specialty on the national level through multiple leadership roles in SVS and beyond.” 

The award nominations of these two surgeons drew wide support from colleagues across the specialty. “Both of these recipients had multiple SVS peers write letters of support on their behalf with glowing commentary,” said Jeyabalan.