January’s top 10 includes “Our forever plague,” a combined editorial by Malachi Sheahan III, MD, our medical editor, on fake news and science, and coverage of the U.S. investigational device exemption (IDE) Aortic Research Consortium and how the chief investigators believe it has produced strong data on the use of fenestrated/branched endovascular aneurysm repair (F/BEVAR). Numerous announcements for the 2022 Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) also caught the attention of many readers, highlighting the opportunity for travel scholarships and the return of livestreaming at VAM 2022.
1. Our forever plague
The following is a combined and revised version of the November and December 2021 editorials on fake news and science denial published in Vascular Specialist. Supplemental information and resources have been added to assist physicians in combating science denial and vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. VAM travel scholarship applications are available this month
Medical students and general surgery residents can now apply for travel scholarships to attend the 2022 Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM). The meeting will be June 15–18 in Boston.
3. Nominate ‘giver, doer’ for Excellence in Community Service Award
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is asking members to consider who among the many excellent vascular surgeons they may know in community practice might be worthy of nomination for the 2022 SVS Excellence in Community Service Award.
4. Livestreaming to return at VAM 2022
After a successful debut in 2021, livestreaming of a variety of sessions will return to the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) this year.
5. ‘Leveraging multiple teams and cardiovascular specialists’
The latest Leadership Corner features Young Erben, MD, interviewing Charles B. Ross, MD, chief of vascular and endovascular services at Piedmont Heart Institute, Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta, since 2012.
6. US IDE Aortic Research Consortium ‘pushes the envelope’ on F/BEVAR
The U.S. investigational device exemption (IDE) Aortic Research Consortium has produced the strongest data so far on the use of fenestrated/branched endovascular aneurysm repair (F/BEVAR), Andres Schanzer, MD, professor and chief of vascular surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts, claimed at Critical Issues in Aortic Endografting 2021 (Dec. 17–18) in Paris, France. As a result of the group’s work, “more patients are getting better care, by more providers, using F/BEVAR devices,” he remarked, summarizing key datasets presented since 2018.
7. SVS PAD course postponed
The new Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Skills Course has been postponed amid the COVID-19 pandemic recent surge in cases, the Society announced.
8. VA: Cutting through the ‘red tape’ of research
Creating an academic career with a perfect blend of clinical work and protected time for productive research is a struggle for many surgeon-scientists. Many have viewed a surgical career in the Veterans Health Administration as a perfect opportunity to achieve that amalgamation. The 2018 revision to the Common Rule has simplified and increased the efficiency of the regulatory components for human subject research.
9. VESS: A society primed for young vascular surgeons, trainees, and medical students
Welcome to December where the calendar is filled with abstract and registration deadlines to various meetings through the summer of 2022. In this month‘s column, we are highlighting the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Society (VESS). Formerly known as the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society (PVSS), VESS traditionally holds its winter annual meeting at a ski resort and is renowned for its casual attire dress code at its meetings. VESS is chic and boasts a loyal membership. But what is its secret sauce?
10. Medtronic recalls HawkOne directional atherectomy system
Medtronic has recalled 95,110 HawkOne directional atherectomy system devices distributed in the United States between Jan. 22, 2018, and Oct. 4, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced.
