In February 2023, the hits with Vascular Specialist readers included positive safety and efficacy findings from the PRESERVE trial; the announcement of the scientific program for Sudan’s first vascular meeting; the release of a former Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) President’s memoirs; and an interview with the three authors of the Vascular Surgery Oral Board Review textbook for trainees embarking on the Vascular Surgery Board Certifying Exam.
1. Likes, dislikes and reposts: The new age of the vascular surgery influencer
Whether on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube, vascular surgeons are posting their “successful” cases like never before. Why the constant need to do this… a cry for validation? Jean Bismuth, MD, and Jonathan Cardella, MD examine the motivations behind the rise in vascular surgery influencing.
2. New study demonstrates IVC filters ‘safe and effective’ in treating venous thromboembolism
Few adverse events are connected to the use of inferior vena cava (IVC) filters to help prevent deep vein blood clots from developing into pulmonary embolisms (PE), according to the findings of the PRESERVE trial.
3. Coding: New CPT codes for percutaneous arteriovenous fistula creation
For the 2023 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set, two new codes (36836 and 36837) have been added that describe percutaneous arteriovenous (AV) fistula creation in the upper extremity—Sunita Srivastava, MD and David Han, MD explain the code change.
4. SVS Foundation board approves latest pilot programs to help underserved
The SVS Foundation has awarded grants to two SVS members to help them serve the underserved as part of the Vascular Care for the Underserved program—the initiative formerly known as VISTA (Vascular Volunteers In Service To All).
5. Patients with claudication receive more ‘aggressive’ surgical management in high-competition regions
M. Libby Weaver, MD, presented the case that intermittent claudication (IC) is a “novel and underdefined” driver of practice variation in management of patients at the 2023 Southern Association for Vascular Surgery (SAVS) annual meeting in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico (Jan. 18-21).
6. Sudanese vascular association readies for first-ever conference
The Sudanese Association of Vascular Surgeons (SudAVaS) has announced the scientific program behind its first-ever international conference and is celebrating the “first steps in establishing vascular surgery as a standalone surgical specialty” in the northeast African country.
7. The case for aggressive intervention on symptomatic carotid web
The lead investigator behind new research from a center in Louisiana outlines how his new study—believed to be the largest single-institution analysis of symptomatic carotid web yet reported—shows that carotid duplex is “inadequate” for diagnosis, and medical management is “unacceptable.”
8. New book penned by vascular icon charts revolutionary spirit
A new memoir penned by former SVS President and vascular surgery leader Frank J. Veith, MD, which touches on a lifetime of service to the specialty and tackles some of its most monumental and controversial moments, was published this week.
9. Vascular surgery oral boards text seeks to fill certifying void
Vascular Surgery Oral Board Review: Behind The Knife Premium is a textbook aimed at vascular surgery trainees taking the Vascular Surgery Board Certifying Exam. It is the work of Andrew M. Wishy, DO, Ravi N. Ambani, MD, and Kevin R. Kniery, MD, the latter known for founding the surgical podcasts Behind the Knife and Audible Bleeding.
10. Spotlight: SVS members take up new positions, make endowment
Sean Lyden, MD, is now chief medical consultant for VESTECK and has joined the VESTECK Scientific Advisory Board, while Thomas Maldonado, MD, has been named chief medical officer for Koya Medical.
