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Making it Personal Through a Career of Service
Ronald M. Fairman, MD, held center stage Friday to present his presidential address, highlighting the personal side of vascular surgery and a career of service.
After acknowledging his family, friends, mentors, the international surgeon community, and his “family” at the University of Pennsylvania, he took the audience on “an abbreviated journey” to share events he hoped would resonate.
“Yes, it is true I was born at Penn and I am still there,” he joked. A rotation on the Penn Vascular Service led him to vascular surgery. “I was drawn to many aspects of the specialty: really sick patients, the opportunity to do tons of surgery, fast pace, the engagement of the faculty” and more.
He was struck, too, he said, by the endurance of those with whom he worked. “They had incredible energy, resiliency, and commitment,” he said. “They reminded me of professional athletes, but obviously with a much more daunting vision and mission, constantly striving to become better surgeons and save more lives. It was all personal to them. The stakes were palpable, there was physical and emotional exhaustion, the successes and failures were obvious to everyone, and I wanted in.”
He started his own private practice after his fellowship. With hard work and a 24/7 schedule, he built a large practice with staff, incorporated and began running a business. Feeling good about his contributions to his hospital, he requested new imaging equipment. The request was denied, with the CFO telling Dr. Fairman, “you are a financial loser for our hospital,” because length of stay for his ruptured AAA patients was much longer than the national average. “I was a loser because my patients were surviving,” he said, astonished that this CFO didn’t understand this. He told the CFO, “If I am a financial loser, I’m outa here. … This was personal and yes, I got the equipment for our vascular lab.”
He told several patient stories, including that of one who nearly died, but whose wife refused to let Dr. Fairman give up on. Complications arose from a left-behind sponge and Dr. Fairman ultimately had to operate again. He told the couple a large settlement would certainly be theirs if they sued, which they refused to do. Indeed they sent Christmas cards for years. “This was personal,” Dr. Fairman said.
In the 1990s, with health care changing, he decided he needed to re-create his career. He returned to Penn; hospital officials, – who “had discovered I wasn’t a financial loser after all” – were not happy. And patients followed him. “It was personal and I provided a valued service,” he said.
He took advantage of a new emphasis on clinical trials that allowed researchers to advance endovascular aortic and carotid therapies, among others, and the division became nationally recognized. The specialty became interesting to him again.
A 2007 malpractice case brought him low. During this self-described “dark time,” SVS member Dr. David Gillespie put together a volunteer program to send members to Landstuhl, Germany, to provided additional vascular support for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result of his inspiring two-week tour of duty, Dr. Fairman recovered “my sense of service, duty, and mission.” Between 2007 and 2014, 177 SVS members participated, with 28 members performing multiple tours of duty. “Talk about making it personal and commitment to service!” he said.
Dr. Fairman also discussed his efforts at Penn to discuss the financial component of worth and service, in advance of his address. The exercise was illuminating. “For every dollar we primarily generate on the inpatient side, at least another dollar is generated for other services,” he said.
He also highlighted many Society achievements and initiatives, including:
- An emphasis on quality outcomes; communicating the value of membership; practice guidelines, government relations work, and increased collaboration with other organizations.
- The relevance and value of VAM.
- A new initiative with the American College of Surgeons, the Vascular Validation Project, to create Vascular Centers of Excellence. “This will be of vital importance to the future success of our specialty and you will hear more about this over the next year,” he promised.
- Efforts for the SVS to support members who increasingly practice in outpatient centers.
- Alignment around “advocacy, practice, education, the vascular team and you, our membership.”
- Integrating community-practice members into the SVS leadership and governance.
He ended with “pearls” of advice for the younger audience, including considering their careers as a sprint, not a marathon. Collaborate when possible, but retain ownership. Don’t be afraid to make career changes and fail. Remain flexible, reinvent yourself. Don’t flip out too often (which elicited a laugh from attendees). Retain professional passion. Start new programs. Become a mentor. Remember the mission is to serve patients.
“But above all else, keep your eye on the prize, those things that keep you human and grounded and help you maintain your humility,” he said. “You will make it highly personal and you will make a difference to your patients through a career of service.”
Paraphrasing U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm’s quote that “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth,” he applied it to vascular surgeons, who have a purpose to serve patients. “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of patient care. It is deeply personal,” he said.
“Colleagues, thank you for allowing me to be your president this past year,” he concluded. “In this highly dangerous and volatile world, may God bless all of us and our mission to our patients.”
Ronald M. Fairman, MD, held center stage Friday to present his presidential address, highlighting the personal side of vascular surgery and a career of service.
After acknowledging his family, friends, mentors, the international surgeon community, and his “family” at the University of Pennsylvania, he took the audience on “an abbreviated journey” to share events he hoped would resonate.
“Yes, it is true I was born at Penn and I am still there,” he joked. A rotation on the Penn Vascular Service led him to vascular surgery. “I was drawn to many aspects of the specialty: really sick patients, the opportunity to do tons of surgery, fast pace, the engagement of the faculty” and more.
He was struck, too, he said, by the endurance of those with whom he worked. “They had incredible energy, resiliency, and commitment,” he said. “They reminded me of professional athletes, but obviously with a much more daunting vision and mission, constantly striving to become better surgeons and save more lives. It was all personal to them. The stakes were palpable, there was physical and emotional exhaustion, the successes and failures were obvious to everyone, and I wanted in.”
He started his own private practice after his fellowship. With hard work and a 24/7 schedule, he built a large practice with staff, incorporated and began running a business. Feeling good about his contributions to his hospital, he requested new imaging equipment. The request was denied, with the CFO telling Dr. Fairman, “you are a financial loser for our hospital,” because length of stay for his ruptured AAA patients was much longer than the national average. “I was a loser because my patients were surviving,” he said, astonished that this CFO didn’t understand this. He told the CFO, “If I am a financial loser, I’m outa here. … This was personal and yes, I got the equipment for our vascular lab.”
He told several patient stories, including that of one who nearly died, but whose wife refused to let Dr. Fairman give up on. Complications arose from a left-behind sponge and Dr. Fairman ultimately had to operate again. He told the couple a large settlement would certainly be theirs if they sued, which they refused to do. Indeed they sent Christmas cards for years. “This was personal,” Dr. Fairman said.
In the 1990s, with health care changing, he decided he needed to re-create his career. He returned to Penn; hospital officials, – who “had discovered I wasn’t a financial loser after all” – were not happy. And patients followed him. “It was personal and I provided a valued service,” he said.
He took advantage of a new emphasis on clinical trials that allowed researchers to advance endovascular aortic and carotid therapies, among others, and the division became nationally recognized. The specialty became interesting to him again.
A 2007 malpractice case brought him low. During this self-described “dark time,” SVS member Dr. David Gillespie put together a volunteer program to send members to Landstuhl, Germany, to provided additional vascular support for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result of his inspiring two-week tour of duty, Dr. Fairman recovered “my sense of service, duty, and mission.” Between 2007 and 2014, 177 SVS members participated, with 28 members performing multiple tours of duty. “Talk about making it personal and commitment to service!” he said.
Dr. Fairman also discussed his efforts at Penn to discuss the financial component of worth and service, in advance of his address. The exercise was illuminating. “For every dollar we primarily generate on the inpatient side, at least another dollar is generated for other services,” he said.
He also highlighted many Society achievements and initiatives, including:
- An emphasis on quality outcomes; communicating the value of membership; practice guidelines, government relations work, and increased collaboration with other organizations.
- The relevance and value of VAM.
- A new initiative with the American College of Surgeons, the Vascular Validation Project, to create Vascular Centers of Excellence. “This will be of vital importance to the future success of our specialty and you will hear more about this over the next year,” he promised.
- Efforts for the SVS to support members who increasingly practice in outpatient centers.
- Alignment around “advocacy, practice, education, the vascular team and you, our membership.”
- Integrating community-practice members into the SVS leadership and governance.
He ended with “pearls” of advice for the younger audience, including considering their careers as a sprint, not a marathon. Collaborate when possible, but retain ownership. Don’t be afraid to make career changes and fail. Remain flexible, reinvent yourself. Don’t flip out too often (which elicited a laugh from attendees). Retain professional passion. Start new programs. Become a mentor. Remember the mission is to serve patients.
“But above all else, keep your eye on the prize, those things that keep you human and grounded and help you maintain your humility,” he said. “You will make it highly personal and you will make a difference to your patients through a career of service.”
Paraphrasing U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm’s quote that “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth,” he applied it to vascular surgeons, who have a purpose to serve patients. “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of patient care. It is deeply personal,” he said.
“Colleagues, thank you for allowing me to be your president this past year,” he concluded. “In this highly dangerous and volatile world, may God bless all of us and our mission to our patients.”
Ronald M. Fairman, MD, held center stage Friday to present his presidential address, highlighting the personal side of vascular surgery and a career of service.
After acknowledging his family, friends, mentors, the international surgeon community, and his “family” at the University of Pennsylvania, he took the audience on “an abbreviated journey” to share events he hoped would resonate.
“Yes, it is true I was born at Penn and I am still there,” he joked. A rotation on the Penn Vascular Service led him to vascular surgery. “I was drawn to many aspects of the specialty: really sick patients, the opportunity to do tons of surgery, fast pace, the engagement of the faculty” and more.
He was struck, too, he said, by the endurance of those with whom he worked. “They had incredible energy, resiliency, and commitment,” he said. “They reminded me of professional athletes, but obviously with a much more daunting vision and mission, constantly striving to become better surgeons and save more lives. It was all personal to them. The stakes were palpable, there was physical and emotional exhaustion, the successes and failures were obvious to everyone, and I wanted in.”
He started his own private practice after his fellowship. With hard work and a 24/7 schedule, he built a large practice with staff, incorporated and began running a business. Feeling good about his contributions to his hospital, he requested new imaging equipment. The request was denied, with the CFO telling Dr. Fairman, “you are a financial loser for our hospital,” because length of stay for his ruptured AAA patients was much longer than the national average. “I was a loser because my patients were surviving,” he said, astonished that this CFO didn’t understand this. He told the CFO, “If I am a financial loser, I’m outa here. … This was personal and yes, I got the equipment for our vascular lab.”
He told several patient stories, including that of one who nearly died, but whose wife refused to let Dr. Fairman give up on. Complications arose from a left-behind sponge and Dr. Fairman ultimately had to operate again. He told the couple a large settlement would certainly be theirs if they sued, which they refused to do. Indeed they sent Christmas cards for years. “This was personal,” Dr. Fairman said.
In the 1990s, with health care changing, he decided he needed to re-create his career. He returned to Penn; hospital officials, – who “had discovered I wasn’t a financial loser after all” – were not happy. And patients followed him. “It was personal and I provided a valued service,” he said.
He took advantage of a new emphasis on clinical trials that allowed researchers to advance endovascular aortic and carotid therapies, among others, and the division became nationally recognized. The specialty became interesting to him again.
A 2007 malpractice case brought him low. During this self-described “dark time,” SVS member Dr. David Gillespie put together a volunteer program to send members to Landstuhl, Germany, to provided additional vascular support for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a result of his inspiring two-week tour of duty, Dr. Fairman recovered “my sense of service, duty, and mission.” Between 2007 and 2014, 177 SVS members participated, with 28 members performing multiple tours of duty. “Talk about making it personal and commitment to service!” he said.
Dr. Fairman also discussed his efforts at Penn to discuss the financial component of worth and service, in advance of his address. The exercise was illuminating. “For every dollar we primarily generate on the inpatient side, at least another dollar is generated for other services,” he said.
He also highlighted many Society achievements and initiatives, including:
- An emphasis on quality outcomes; communicating the value of membership; practice guidelines, government relations work, and increased collaboration with other organizations.
- The relevance and value of VAM.
- A new initiative with the American College of Surgeons, the Vascular Validation Project, to create Vascular Centers of Excellence. “This will be of vital importance to the future success of our specialty and you will hear more about this over the next year,” he promised.
- Efforts for the SVS to support members who increasingly practice in outpatient centers.
- Alignment around “advocacy, practice, education, the vascular team and you, our membership.”
- Integrating community-practice members into the SVS leadership and governance.
He ended with “pearls” of advice for the younger audience, including considering their careers as a sprint, not a marathon. Collaborate when possible, but retain ownership. Don’t be afraid to make career changes and fail. Remain flexible, reinvent yourself. Don’t flip out too often (which elicited a laugh from attendees). Retain professional passion. Start new programs. Become a mentor. Remember the mission is to serve patients.
“But above all else, keep your eye on the prize, those things that keep you human and grounded and help you maintain your humility,” he said. “You will make it highly personal and you will make a difference to your patients through a career of service.”
Paraphrasing U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm’s quote that “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth,” he applied it to vascular surgeons, who have a purpose to serve patients. “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of patient care. It is deeply personal,” he said.
“Colleagues, thank you for allowing me to be your president this past year,” he concluded. “In this highly dangerous and volatile world, may God bless all of us and our mission to our patients.”
Crawford Forum Tackles the Value-Based Future
Rather than choosing a technical issue to address, “I feel it is much more important for us to know the mechanisms of payment systems and how the new world order is going to transpire,” said R. Clement Darling, III, MD, in his introduction to the 2017 E. Stanley Crawford Critical Issues Forum.
Each year, the Vascular Annual Meeting is highlighted by the Forum, which is moderated and organized by the incoming SVS president. This year, Dr. Darling, of the Albany Medical College, assembled four speakers from a variety of disciplines to address “How to Navigate a Value-Based Reimbursement System: What You Need to Know.”
Michael C. Dalsing, MD, of the Indiana University School of Medicine discussed what vascular specialists needed to know about MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act), and how to “compete and flourish” in a world of alternative payment systems. He pointed out that whatever happens to the Affordable Care Act in Washington, MACRA is here to stay because it replaces the former Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), and deals with “how” to pay, not “who” pays. Physicians will have to be involved with either a MIPS (Merit-based Incentive Payment System) or an APM (Alternative Payment Model) in order to benefit. Those who do nothing will see a 4% decrease in 2019.
Daniel Gorin, MD, of Hyannis, Mass., addressed the issue of fitting the outpatient angio suite into the new world order. He said that it is not just a matter of how to deliver appropriate care and ensure that the right patients are operated on for the right reasons, but also to make sure that outpatient endovascular centers received appropriate accreditation, as they are here to stay and are very popular with patients. He pointed out that accreditation is only mandated in 30 states, but that even those states have few standards regarding that accreditation. He said that proper patient care will need to rely on the development of evidence-based care guidelines developed for patients in angio suites and for valid organizations, such as the Outpatient Endovascular Interventional Society, to be placed in charge of that accreditation.
John (Jeb) Hallett, MD, discussed the role of outcome registries in the future of vascular specialists now and in the future. He talked about whether they should be seen as necessary evils or useful tools. “What we measure is what we can change,” said Dr. Hallett*, pointing out that this is important in the new world of value-based care, where by 2022, “A+” physicians will receive a 9% increase in compensation, whereas the “F” performers will get a 9% decrease.
Finishing up the program, Anton Sidawy, MD, of George Washington University, addressed the overarching issue of regionalization and center accreditation, and how the continuous quality model can be applied to vascular medicine. One of the most important issues is how to make sure that vascular surgeons are proactive in taking control of the quality development and assurance process rather than having it taken over by other groups such as the government, insurers, or patient advocacy groups. He discussed how SVS is in preliminary discussion with the American College of Surgeons, which has developed many of these groups successfully with other professional societies, in order to create a potential new model for the vascular specialty. “Reforms need realistic input, which is best gotten from experts in the field. That’s us. So we need to be involved and participate in the process. Payment for physician services is moving from fee for service to payment for value, quality and efficiency, and we need to define value. This is one way to do it,” Dr. Sidawy concluded.
*Correction, 6/2/17. An earlier version of the article misattributed this quote.
Rather than choosing a technical issue to address, “I feel it is much more important for us to know the mechanisms of payment systems and how the new world order is going to transpire,” said R. Clement Darling, III, MD, in his introduction to the 2017 E. Stanley Crawford Critical Issues Forum.
Each year, the Vascular Annual Meeting is highlighted by the Forum, which is moderated and organized by the incoming SVS president. This year, Dr. Darling, of the Albany Medical College, assembled four speakers from a variety of disciplines to address “How to Navigate a Value-Based Reimbursement System: What You Need to Know.”
Michael C. Dalsing, MD, of the Indiana University School of Medicine discussed what vascular specialists needed to know about MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act), and how to “compete and flourish” in a world of alternative payment systems. He pointed out that whatever happens to the Affordable Care Act in Washington, MACRA is here to stay because it replaces the former Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), and deals with “how” to pay, not “who” pays. Physicians will have to be involved with either a MIPS (Merit-based Incentive Payment System) or an APM (Alternative Payment Model) in order to benefit. Those who do nothing will see a 4% decrease in 2019.
Daniel Gorin, MD, of Hyannis, Mass., addressed the issue of fitting the outpatient angio suite into the new world order. He said that it is not just a matter of how to deliver appropriate care and ensure that the right patients are operated on for the right reasons, but also to make sure that outpatient endovascular centers received appropriate accreditation, as they are here to stay and are very popular with patients. He pointed out that accreditation is only mandated in 30 states, but that even those states have few standards regarding that accreditation. He said that proper patient care will need to rely on the development of evidence-based care guidelines developed for patients in angio suites and for valid organizations, such as the Outpatient Endovascular Interventional Society, to be placed in charge of that accreditation.
John (Jeb) Hallett, MD, discussed the role of outcome registries in the future of vascular specialists now and in the future. He talked about whether they should be seen as necessary evils or useful tools. “What we measure is what we can change,” said Dr. Hallett*, pointing out that this is important in the new world of value-based care, where by 2022, “A+” physicians will receive a 9% increase in compensation, whereas the “F” performers will get a 9% decrease.
Finishing up the program, Anton Sidawy, MD, of George Washington University, addressed the overarching issue of regionalization and center accreditation, and how the continuous quality model can be applied to vascular medicine. One of the most important issues is how to make sure that vascular surgeons are proactive in taking control of the quality development and assurance process rather than having it taken over by other groups such as the government, insurers, or patient advocacy groups. He discussed how SVS is in preliminary discussion with the American College of Surgeons, which has developed many of these groups successfully with other professional societies, in order to create a potential new model for the vascular specialty. “Reforms need realistic input, which is best gotten from experts in the field. That’s us. So we need to be involved and participate in the process. Payment for physician services is moving from fee for service to payment for value, quality and efficiency, and we need to define value. This is one way to do it,” Dr. Sidawy concluded.
*Correction, 6/2/17. An earlier version of the article misattributed this quote.
Rather than choosing a technical issue to address, “I feel it is much more important for us to know the mechanisms of payment systems and how the new world order is going to transpire,” said R. Clement Darling, III, MD, in his introduction to the 2017 E. Stanley Crawford Critical Issues Forum.
Each year, the Vascular Annual Meeting is highlighted by the Forum, which is moderated and organized by the incoming SVS president. This year, Dr. Darling, of the Albany Medical College, assembled four speakers from a variety of disciplines to address “How to Navigate a Value-Based Reimbursement System: What You Need to Know.”
Michael C. Dalsing, MD, of the Indiana University School of Medicine discussed what vascular specialists needed to know about MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act), and how to “compete and flourish” in a world of alternative payment systems. He pointed out that whatever happens to the Affordable Care Act in Washington, MACRA is here to stay because it replaces the former Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), and deals with “how” to pay, not “who” pays. Physicians will have to be involved with either a MIPS (Merit-based Incentive Payment System) or an APM (Alternative Payment Model) in order to benefit. Those who do nothing will see a 4% decrease in 2019.
Daniel Gorin, MD, of Hyannis, Mass., addressed the issue of fitting the outpatient angio suite into the new world order. He said that it is not just a matter of how to deliver appropriate care and ensure that the right patients are operated on for the right reasons, but also to make sure that outpatient endovascular centers received appropriate accreditation, as they are here to stay and are very popular with patients. He pointed out that accreditation is only mandated in 30 states, but that even those states have few standards regarding that accreditation. He said that proper patient care will need to rely on the development of evidence-based care guidelines developed for patients in angio suites and for valid organizations, such as the Outpatient Endovascular Interventional Society, to be placed in charge of that accreditation.
John (Jeb) Hallett, MD, discussed the role of outcome registries in the future of vascular specialists now and in the future. He talked about whether they should be seen as necessary evils or useful tools. “What we measure is what we can change,” said Dr. Hallett*, pointing out that this is important in the new world of value-based care, where by 2022, “A+” physicians will receive a 9% increase in compensation, whereas the “F” performers will get a 9% decrease.
Finishing up the program, Anton Sidawy, MD, of George Washington University, addressed the overarching issue of regionalization and center accreditation, and how the continuous quality model can be applied to vascular medicine. One of the most important issues is how to make sure that vascular surgeons are proactive in taking control of the quality development and assurance process rather than having it taken over by other groups such as the government, insurers, or patient advocacy groups. He discussed how SVS is in preliminary discussion with the American College of Surgeons, which has developed many of these groups successfully with other professional societies, in order to create a potential new model for the vascular specialty. “Reforms need realistic input, which is best gotten from experts in the field. That’s us. So we need to be involved and participate in the process. Payment for physician services is moving from fee for service to payment for value, quality and efficiency, and we need to define value. This is one way to do it,” Dr. Sidawy concluded.
*Correction, 6/2/17. An earlier version of the article misattributed this quote.
Session to Spotlight Key Research Papers
VAM attendees have the opportunity to learn about several medical journal articles of relevance to their vascular surgery practice during a session on Saturday.
Entitled “Beyond the Journal of Vascular Surgery: ‘Top Ten’ Papers Relevant to Vascular Surgery,” the session “serves to inform VAM attendees on important literature outside of our core vascular surgery journals that might be missed in a busy practice,” said session co-moderator Ellen Dillavou, MD, a vascular surgeon in the department of surgery at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. “Additionally, the articles are discussed by experts in our field, providing a clinical context for interpretation.”
During 10 consecutive eight-minute presentations, speakers are scheduled to highlight take-home points from published articles on a wide range of topics. For example, Chandler Long, MD, of Duke University, is scheduled to discuss a 2016 article entitled “Nationwide Study of the Treatment of Mycotic Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Comparing Open and Endovascular Repair” (Circulation. 2016;134[23]:1822-32); Donald Baril, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, is scheduled to talk about a 2017 paper entitled “Femoropopliteal In-Stent Restenosis Repair: Midterm Outcomes After Paclitaxel Eluting Balloon Use (PLAISIR Trial)” (Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2017;53[1]:106-13), and Gregory Moneta, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, is scheduled to discuss a 2017 article published online entitled “Evolocumab and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease” (N Engl J Med. 2017 March 17 [Epub doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1615664]). These articles highlight the variety of topics to be covered, and emphasize the focus on advances in clinical knowledge. “The information may be used to update or change clinical practice, or serve as an impetus for further research,” Dr. Dillavou said.
The session’s other co-moderator is Jon S. Matsumura, MD, professor and chairman of the division of vascular surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wis.
The moderators reported having no financial disclosures.
Saturday, June 3
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
SDCC, Room 6 A/B
F2: Beyond the Journal of Vascular Surgery: “Top Ten” Papers Relevant to Vascular Surgery
VAM attendees have the opportunity to learn about several medical journal articles of relevance to their vascular surgery practice during a session on Saturday.
Entitled “Beyond the Journal of Vascular Surgery: ‘Top Ten’ Papers Relevant to Vascular Surgery,” the session “serves to inform VAM attendees on important literature outside of our core vascular surgery journals that might be missed in a busy practice,” said session co-moderator Ellen Dillavou, MD, a vascular surgeon in the department of surgery at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. “Additionally, the articles are discussed by experts in our field, providing a clinical context for interpretation.”
During 10 consecutive eight-minute presentations, speakers are scheduled to highlight take-home points from published articles on a wide range of topics. For example, Chandler Long, MD, of Duke University, is scheduled to discuss a 2016 article entitled “Nationwide Study of the Treatment of Mycotic Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Comparing Open and Endovascular Repair” (Circulation. 2016;134[23]:1822-32); Donald Baril, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, is scheduled to talk about a 2017 paper entitled “Femoropopliteal In-Stent Restenosis Repair: Midterm Outcomes After Paclitaxel Eluting Balloon Use (PLAISIR Trial)” (Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2017;53[1]:106-13), and Gregory Moneta, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, is scheduled to discuss a 2017 article published online entitled “Evolocumab and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease” (N Engl J Med. 2017 March 17 [Epub doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1615664]). These articles highlight the variety of topics to be covered, and emphasize the focus on advances in clinical knowledge. “The information may be used to update or change clinical practice, or serve as an impetus for further research,” Dr. Dillavou said.
The session’s other co-moderator is Jon S. Matsumura, MD, professor and chairman of the division of vascular surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wis.
The moderators reported having no financial disclosures.
Saturday, June 3
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
SDCC, Room 6 A/B
F2: Beyond the Journal of Vascular Surgery: “Top Ten” Papers Relevant to Vascular Surgery
VAM attendees have the opportunity to learn about several medical journal articles of relevance to their vascular surgery practice during a session on Saturday.
Entitled “Beyond the Journal of Vascular Surgery: ‘Top Ten’ Papers Relevant to Vascular Surgery,” the session “serves to inform VAM attendees on important literature outside of our core vascular surgery journals that might be missed in a busy practice,” said session co-moderator Ellen Dillavou, MD, a vascular surgeon in the department of surgery at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C. “Additionally, the articles are discussed by experts in our field, providing a clinical context for interpretation.”
During 10 consecutive eight-minute presentations, speakers are scheduled to highlight take-home points from published articles on a wide range of topics. For example, Chandler Long, MD, of Duke University, is scheduled to discuss a 2016 article entitled “Nationwide Study of the Treatment of Mycotic Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Comparing Open and Endovascular Repair” (Circulation. 2016;134[23]:1822-32); Donald Baril, MD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, is scheduled to talk about a 2017 paper entitled “Femoropopliteal In-Stent Restenosis Repair: Midterm Outcomes After Paclitaxel Eluting Balloon Use (PLAISIR Trial)” (Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2017;53[1]:106-13), and Gregory Moneta, MD, of Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, is scheduled to discuss a 2017 article published online entitled “Evolocumab and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease” (N Engl J Med. 2017 March 17 [Epub doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1615664]). These articles highlight the variety of topics to be covered, and emphasize the focus on advances in clinical knowledge. “The information may be used to update or change clinical practice, or serve as an impetus for further research,” Dr. Dillavou said.
The session’s other co-moderator is Jon S. Matsumura, MD, professor and chairman of the division of vascular surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wis.
The moderators reported having no financial disclosures.
Saturday, June 3
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
SDCC, Room 6 A/B
F2: Beyond the Journal of Vascular Surgery: “Top Ten” Papers Relevant to Vascular Surgery
How the Team Approach Can Drive a High-Performance Vascular Practice
On Saturday, June 3, at 10:30 a.m., vascular surgeons and other members of the vascular care team will come together for a session entitled “Building the Vascular Team – Evolving Collaboration of Surgeons and Nurses.”
This session, run jointly by the Society for Vascular Surgery and the Society for Vascular Nursing, will offer attendees “advice and information about how best to value your team, form your team, educate your team, and utilize your team,” said co-moderator Kellie R. Brown, MD, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
The role of a nurse specialist has not always been well-delineated, said Dr. Brown. For example, there are no special licensure requirements. However, she said, nurse specialists represent “a huge value within your practice,” adding that if talented nurses can be identified, retained, and their skills developed, “they can add a lot and make you much more efficient.”
Yaron Sternbach, MD, and Marie Rossi, RN, BS, both of The Vascular Group, PLLC, in Albany, N. Y., will give the physician and the nursing perspective on “Defining the High-Performing Vascular Practice,” with an emphasis on forming and maintaining a high-performing team, said Dr. Brown.
In turn, Dr. Brown and co-moderator Tiffany K. Street, MSN, ACNP-BC, of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing will give the physician and the advanced practice provider’s perspective on integrating advanced practice providers into a vascular practice.
Dr. Brown said that a vascular surgeon can really benefit from understanding “how best to have the nursing and advanced practice members of your team really work to the top of their licenses.” This, she said, is when a high-performance vascular team really starts working well: “You have a whole team contributing to the care of the patient. The surgeon’s doing surgery, the nurse is doing nursing, and the advanced practice providers are complementing the surgeon’s work in pre- and post-op care.”
Ms. Street agreed. “From a physician’s perspective, we all have unique roles and all have something to contribute toward the care of the patient. How do we get the right people in the right positions, doing the right type of work?” This, she said, will be a key take-away from the session.
Ms. Rossi, also a co-moderator, will speak in more detail about vascular specialty nursing, in a session entitled, “The Case for Vascular Specialty Nursing: What We Know and What Remains to be Clarified.” In another session, attendees will hear from Kathy Rich, PhD, a vascular nurse in Chesterton, Ind. Dr. Rich sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Vascular Nursing; her presentation is entitled “Expanding the Knowledge Base: Training Paradigms in Vascular Nursing.”
The morning’s presentations will be rounded out by Ms. Street, who will give a nuts-and-bolts presentation entitled, “Integrating Nursing Roles into Daily Practice.” Here, she plans to touch on some of the realities of creating and maintaining a high-performing vascular team. These include scope of practice, competencies, compliance, and billing perspectives, all of which can be perceived hurdles to integrating nurse specialists and advanced practice providers into a vascular practice.
Ms. Street will also provide information about potential career paths within vascular nursing in a presentation entitled “Careers in Vascular Nursing: Opportunities for Growth.”
The joint session, said Dr. Brown, represents “an exciting direction” for the Society for Vascular Surgery. “There will be more opportunities for collaboration between individuals in our two career paths,” as the use of advanced practice providers and specialty nurses grows within vascular surgery.
Ms. Street agreed, adding that the team approach doesn’t negate the surgeon’s role. “Surgery can’t be surgery without surgeons. It’s just about using people in the right positions to take the best care of patients,” she said.
Dr. Brown said that the goal of the team approach in vascular surgery is to achieve both high-quality and efficient care; reaching this mark is an especially relevant goal today, since “the need is going to keep rising, and we can’t train vascular surgeons fast enough,” she said. The team approach is a way to have the vascular surgeon care for more patients as demand soars. “In this era of declining reimbursement, we all need to be more efficient,” said Dr. Brown.
Dr. Brown reported being an investigator for the LEOPARD trial. Ms. Street reported no relevant financial relationships.
Saturday, June 3
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. SDCC, Room 3
C13: Building the Vascular Team
On Saturday, June 3, at 10:30 a.m., vascular surgeons and other members of the vascular care team will come together for a session entitled “Building the Vascular Team – Evolving Collaboration of Surgeons and Nurses.”
This session, run jointly by the Society for Vascular Surgery and the Society for Vascular Nursing, will offer attendees “advice and information about how best to value your team, form your team, educate your team, and utilize your team,” said co-moderator Kellie R. Brown, MD, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
The role of a nurse specialist has not always been well-delineated, said Dr. Brown. For example, there are no special licensure requirements. However, she said, nurse specialists represent “a huge value within your practice,” adding that if talented nurses can be identified, retained, and their skills developed, “they can add a lot and make you much more efficient.”
Yaron Sternbach, MD, and Marie Rossi, RN, BS, both of The Vascular Group, PLLC, in Albany, N. Y., will give the physician and the nursing perspective on “Defining the High-Performing Vascular Practice,” with an emphasis on forming and maintaining a high-performing team, said Dr. Brown.
In turn, Dr. Brown and co-moderator Tiffany K. Street, MSN, ACNP-BC, of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing will give the physician and the advanced practice provider’s perspective on integrating advanced practice providers into a vascular practice.
Dr. Brown said that a vascular surgeon can really benefit from understanding “how best to have the nursing and advanced practice members of your team really work to the top of their licenses.” This, she said, is when a high-performance vascular team really starts working well: “You have a whole team contributing to the care of the patient. The surgeon’s doing surgery, the nurse is doing nursing, and the advanced practice providers are complementing the surgeon’s work in pre- and post-op care.”
Ms. Street agreed. “From a physician’s perspective, we all have unique roles and all have something to contribute toward the care of the patient. How do we get the right people in the right positions, doing the right type of work?” This, she said, will be a key take-away from the session.
Ms. Rossi, also a co-moderator, will speak in more detail about vascular specialty nursing, in a session entitled, “The Case for Vascular Specialty Nursing: What We Know and What Remains to be Clarified.” In another session, attendees will hear from Kathy Rich, PhD, a vascular nurse in Chesterton, Ind. Dr. Rich sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Vascular Nursing; her presentation is entitled “Expanding the Knowledge Base: Training Paradigms in Vascular Nursing.”
The morning’s presentations will be rounded out by Ms. Street, who will give a nuts-and-bolts presentation entitled, “Integrating Nursing Roles into Daily Practice.” Here, she plans to touch on some of the realities of creating and maintaining a high-performing vascular team. These include scope of practice, competencies, compliance, and billing perspectives, all of which can be perceived hurdles to integrating nurse specialists and advanced practice providers into a vascular practice.
Ms. Street will also provide information about potential career paths within vascular nursing in a presentation entitled “Careers in Vascular Nursing: Opportunities for Growth.”
The joint session, said Dr. Brown, represents “an exciting direction” for the Society for Vascular Surgery. “There will be more opportunities for collaboration between individuals in our two career paths,” as the use of advanced practice providers and specialty nurses grows within vascular surgery.
Ms. Street agreed, adding that the team approach doesn’t negate the surgeon’s role. “Surgery can’t be surgery without surgeons. It’s just about using people in the right positions to take the best care of patients,” she said.
Dr. Brown said that the goal of the team approach in vascular surgery is to achieve both high-quality and efficient care; reaching this mark is an especially relevant goal today, since “the need is going to keep rising, and we can’t train vascular surgeons fast enough,” she said. The team approach is a way to have the vascular surgeon care for more patients as demand soars. “In this era of declining reimbursement, we all need to be more efficient,” said Dr. Brown.
Dr. Brown reported being an investigator for the LEOPARD trial. Ms. Street reported no relevant financial relationships.
Saturday, June 3
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. SDCC, Room 3
C13: Building the Vascular Team
On Saturday, June 3, at 10:30 a.m., vascular surgeons and other members of the vascular care team will come together for a session entitled “Building the Vascular Team – Evolving Collaboration of Surgeons and Nurses.”
This session, run jointly by the Society for Vascular Surgery and the Society for Vascular Nursing, will offer attendees “advice and information about how best to value your team, form your team, educate your team, and utilize your team,” said co-moderator Kellie R. Brown, MD, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
The role of a nurse specialist has not always been well-delineated, said Dr. Brown. For example, there are no special licensure requirements. However, she said, nurse specialists represent “a huge value within your practice,” adding that if talented nurses can be identified, retained, and their skills developed, “they can add a lot and make you much more efficient.”
Yaron Sternbach, MD, and Marie Rossi, RN, BS, both of The Vascular Group, PLLC, in Albany, N. Y., will give the physician and the nursing perspective on “Defining the High-Performing Vascular Practice,” with an emphasis on forming and maintaining a high-performing team, said Dr. Brown.
In turn, Dr. Brown and co-moderator Tiffany K. Street, MSN, ACNP-BC, of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing will give the physician and the advanced practice provider’s perspective on integrating advanced practice providers into a vascular practice.
Dr. Brown said that a vascular surgeon can really benefit from understanding “how best to have the nursing and advanced practice members of your team really work to the top of their licenses.” This, she said, is when a high-performance vascular team really starts working well: “You have a whole team contributing to the care of the patient. The surgeon’s doing surgery, the nurse is doing nursing, and the advanced practice providers are complementing the surgeon’s work in pre- and post-op care.”
Ms. Street agreed. “From a physician’s perspective, we all have unique roles and all have something to contribute toward the care of the patient. How do we get the right people in the right positions, doing the right type of work?” This, she said, will be a key take-away from the session.
Ms. Rossi, also a co-moderator, will speak in more detail about vascular specialty nursing, in a session entitled, “The Case for Vascular Specialty Nursing: What We Know and What Remains to be Clarified.” In another session, attendees will hear from Kathy Rich, PhD, a vascular nurse in Chesterton, Ind. Dr. Rich sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Vascular Nursing; her presentation is entitled “Expanding the Knowledge Base: Training Paradigms in Vascular Nursing.”
The morning’s presentations will be rounded out by Ms. Street, who will give a nuts-and-bolts presentation entitled, “Integrating Nursing Roles into Daily Practice.” Here, she plans to touch on some of the realities of creating and maintaining a high-performing vascular team. These include scope of practice, competencies, compliance, and billing perspectives, all of which can be perceived hurdles to integrating nurse specialists and advanced practice providers into a vascular practice.
Ms. Street will also provide information about potential career paths within vascular nursing in a presentation entitled “Careers in Vascular Nursing: Opportunities for Growth.”
The joint session, said Dr. Brown, represents “an exciting direction” for the Society for Vascular Surgery. “There will be more opportunities for collaboration between individuals in our two career paths,” as the use of advanced practice providers and specialty nurses grows within vascular surgery.
Ms. Street agreed, adding that the team approach doesn’t negate the surgeon’s role. “Surgery can’t be surgery without surgeons. It’s just about using people in the right positions to take the best care of patients,” she said.
Dr. Brown said that the goal of the team approach in vascular surgery is to achieve both high-quality and efficient care; reaching this mark is an especially relevant goal today, since “the need is going to keep rising, and we can’t train vascular surgeons fast enough,” she said. The team approach is a way to have the vascular surgeon care for more patients as demand soars. “In this era of declining reimbursement, we all need to be more efficient,” said Dr. Brown.
Dr. Brown reported being an investigator for the LEOPARD trial. Ms. Street reported no relevant financial relationships.
Saturday, June 3
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. SDCC, Room 3
C13: Building the Vascular Team
SVS, STS Host Joint Aortic Summit Saturday Afternoon
The surgeons and society leaders involved in this summit want continued collaboration to become a cultural expectation. It is expected that future summits will be held in alternate venues: at the SVS Annual Meeting this year, at the STS Annual Meeting the next time.
“That shows it’s a team effort, that yes, we’re going to care for these complex patients together as a multidisciplinary aortic team, and collaborate nationally to exchange ideas,”according to Dr. Szeto and Dr. Lee.
The summit, “Advances and Controversies in the Management of Complex Thoracoabdominal Aneurysmal Disease and Type B Aortic Dissection,” will take place from 1:30 to 5:15 p.m. Saturday, in SDCC, Room 3. A separate registration fee is required; all members are encouraged to attend this unique discussion with experts from multiple disciplines reviewing the most contemporary treatments for these complex problems, said Jason T. Lee, MD of Stanford University, Calif. He and Wilson Szeto, MD (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia) of STS are co-moderating the program.
The 2013 symposium was so “extremely valuable, productive, and popular” that leaders from both societies felt it was time to reinvigorate the collaborative program, said Dr. Szeto. Members of both specialties care for patients with aortic disease, with a great deal of overlap in the management of disease processes and treatments. “It makes sense to continue to foster and embrace this collaboration with the goal of improving patient care,” said Dr. Szeto. “A multidisciplinary approach of an aortic disease team is the ideal paradigm, in our opinion. We prefer to work in teams, not silos.”
With that in mind, Joseph E. Bavaria, MD, immediate past president of STS, and SVS President Ronald M. Fairman, MD, worked to make the vision of a 2017 summit a reality
It will cover the technical aspects of both open and endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms, compare and contrast options for preserving spinal cord function, and identify current and future treatment options in the arena of TEVAR focusing on aortic dissection.
“To optimize best delivery of patient-centered care, when it comes to complex aortic disease, collaboration and team management are necessary,” said Dr. Lee. “Institutions that have experts who work together and provide all types of technologies, whether open or endovascular, will be best equipped to provide the level of care necessary for best outcomes. To assemble numerous experts from across the country and world to discuss these issues will make this a very educational and exciting session.”
The summit is broken into several parts. Dr. Lee and Dr. Szeto will moderate the thoracoabdominal section and Matthew Eagleton, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic (SVS) and Michael Fischbein, MD, of Stanford University in California (STS) will moderate the portion on Type B Aortic Dissection.
The summit will conclude with a look to the future in the treatment of aortic disease. Dr. Szeto will discuss how to optimally train future cardiovascular surgeons to manage complex aortic disease while Dr. R. Clement Darling, III, MD, SVS President-elect, will talk about the need for members of both specialties to work together as open and endovascular experts to manage complex aortic disease.
The surgeons and society leaders involved in this summit want continued collaboration to become a cultural expectation. It is expected that future summits will be held in alternate venues: at the SVS Annual Meeting this year, at the STS Annual Meeting the next time.
“That shows it’s a team effort, that yes, we’re going to care for these complex patients together as a multidisciplinary aortic team, and collaborate nationally to exchange ideas,”according to Dr. Szeto and Dr. Lee.
The summit, “Advances and Controversies in the Management of Complex Thoracoabdominal Aneurysmal Disease and Type B Aortic Dissection,” will take place from 1:30 to 5:15 p.m. Saturday, in SDCC, Room 3. A separate registration fee is required; all members are encouraged to attend this unique discussion with experts from multiple disciplines reviewing the most contemporary treatments for these complex problems, said Jason T. Lee, MD of Stanford University, Calif. He and Wilson Szeto, MD (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia) of STS are co-moderating the program.
The 2013 symposium was so “extremely valuable, productive, and popular” that leaders from both societies felt it was time to reinvigorate the collaborative program, said Dr. Szeto. Members of both specialties care for patients with aortic disease, with a great deal of overlap in the management of disease processes and treatments. “It makes sense to continue to foster and embrace this collaboration with the goal of improving patient care,” said Dr. Szeto. “A multidisciplinary approach of an aortic disease team is the ideal paradigm, in our opinion. We prefer to work in teams, not silos.”
With that in mind, Joseph E. Bavaria, MD, immediate past president of STS, and SVS President Ronald M. Fairman, MD, worked to make the vision of a 2017 summit a reality
It will cover the technical aspects of both open and endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms, compare and contrast options for preserving spinal cord function, and identify current and future treatment options in the arena of TEVAR focusing on aortic dissection.
“To optimize best delivery of patient-centered care, when it comes to complex aortic disease, collaboration and team management are necessary,” said Dr. Lee. “Institutions that have experts who work together and provide all types of technologies, whether open or endovascular, will be best equipped to provide the level of care necessary for best outcomes. To assemble numerous experts from across the country and world to discuss these issues will make this a very educational and exciting session.”
The summit is broken into several parts. Dr. Lee and Dr. Szeto will moderate the thoracoabdominal section and Matthew Eagleton, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic (SVS) and Michael Fischbein, MD, of Stanford University in California (STS) will moderate the portion on Type B Aortic Dissection.
The summit will conclude with a look to the future in the treatment of aortic disease. Dr. Szeto will discuss how to optimally train future cardiovascular surgeons to manage complex aortic disease while Dr. R. Clement Darling, III, MD, SVS President-elect, will talk about the need for members of both specialties to work together as open and endovascular experts to manage complex aortic disease.
The surgeons and society leaders involved in this summit want continued collaboration to become a cultural expectation. It is expected that future summits will be held in alternate venues: at the SVS Annual Meeting this year, at the STS Annual Meeting the next time.
“That shows it’s a team effort, that yes, we’re going to care for these complex patients together as a multidisciplinary aortic team, and collaborate nationally to exchange ideas,”according to Dr. Szeto and Dr. Lee.
The summit, “Advances and Controversies in the Management of Complex Thoracoabdominal Aneurysmal Disease and Type B Aortic Dissection,” will take place from 1:30 to 5:15 p.m. Saturday, in SDCC, Room 3. A separate registration fee is required; all members are encouraged to attend this unique discussion with experts from multiple disciplines reviewing the most contemporary treatments for these complex problems, said Jason T. Lee, MD of Stanford University, Calif. He and Wilson Szeto, MD (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia) of STS are co-moderating the program.
The 2013 symposium was so “extremely valuable, productive, and popular” that leaders from both societies felt it was time to reinvigorate the collaborative program, said Dr. Szeto. Members of both specialties care for patients with aortic disease, with a great deal of overlap in the management of disease processes and treatments. “It makes sense to continue to foster and embrace this collaboration with the goal of improving patient care,” said Dr. Szeto. “A multidisciplinary approach of an aortic disease team is the ideal paradigm, in our opinion. We prefer to work in teams, not silos.”
With that in mind, Joseph E. Bavaria, MD, immediate past president of STS, and SVS President Ronald M. Fairman, MD, worked to make the vision of a 2017 summit a reality
It will cover the technical aspects of both open and endovascular repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms, compare and contrast options for preserving spinal cord function, and identify current and future treatment options in the arena of TEVAR focusing on aortic dissection.
“To optimize best delivery of patient-centered care, when it comes to complex aortic disease, collaboration and team management are necessary,” said Dr. Lee. “Institutions that have experts who work together and provide all types of technologies, whether open or endovascular, will be best equipped to provide the level of care necessary for best outcomes. To assemble numerous experts from across the country and world to discuss these issues will make this a very educational and exciting session.”
The summit is broken into several parts. Dr. Lee and Dr. Szeto will moderate the thoracoabdominal section and Matthew Eagleton, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic (SVS) and Michael Fischbein, MD, of Stanford University in California (STS) will moderate the portion on Type B Aortic Dissection.
The summit will conclude with a look to the future in the treatment of aortic disease. Dr. Szeto will discuss how to optimally train future cardiovascular surgeons to manage complex aortic disease while Dr. R. Clement Darling, III, MD, SVS President-elect, will talk about the need for members of both specialties to work together as open and endovascular experts to manage complex aortic disease.
Political Action Committee Reception Is Thursday
A meal and conversation with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. An existing relationship with Dr. Tom Price, now secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Working relationships with others in office who make national health care decisions affecting SVS members. Such benefits happen because of the SVS Political Action Committee.
The SVS PAC works for vascular surgeons – ONLY vascular surgeons – to ensure SVS access to U.S. representatives and senators to discuss issues that have a major impact on members and their patients. Contributions help elect or re-elect candidates who can be helpful with such issues.
The SVS PAC will hold a reception and “thank you” for those donors who have contributed to the PAC since Jan. 1, 2016. This includes donations received during the 2017 Vascular Annual Meeting.
The reception will be held from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 1, in the La Costa Room at the Marriott Marquis.
Contributions are critically important to the future of members, their profession and their practices, PAC leaders say.
“A good offense – great advocacy – is the best defense when confronted with so many unknowns today,” said Carlo A. Dall’Olmo, former SVS PAC chair. “The challenges are obvious, and they are present on both sides of the aisle. … (contributions) to the SVS/PAC will allow us to advocate at every opportunity.”
Thursday, June 1
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Marriott Marquis, La Costa Room
South Tower, fourth floor
PAC Reception
A meal and conversation with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. An existing relationship with Dr. Tom Price, now secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Working relationships with others in office who make national health care decisions affecting SVS members. Such benefits happen because of the SVS Political Action Committee.
The SVS PAC works for vascular surgeons – ONLY vascular surgeons – to ensure SVS access to U.S. representatives and senators to discuss issues that have a major impact on members and their patients. Contributions help elect or re-elect candidates who can be helpful with such issues.
The SVS PAC will hold a reception and “thank you” for those donors who have contributed to the PAC since Jan. 1, 2016. This includes donations received during the 2017 Vascular Annual Meeting.
The reception will be held from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 1, in the La Costa Room at the Marriott Marquis.
Contributions are critically important to the future of members, their profession and their practices, PAC leaders say.
“A good offense – great advocacy – is the best defense when confronted with so many unknowns today,” said Carlo A. Dall’Olmo, former SVS PAC chair. “The challenges are obvious, and they are present on both sides of the aisle. … (contributions) to the SVS/PAC will allow us to advocate at every opportunity.”
Thursday, June 1
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Marriott Marquis, La Costa Room
South Tower, fourth floor
PAC Reception
A meal and conversation with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. An existing relationship with Dr. Tom Price, now secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Working relationships with others in office who make national health care decisions affecting SVS members. Such benefits happen because of the SVS Political Action Committee.
The SVS PAC works for vascular surgeons – ONLY vascular surgeons – to ensure SVS access to U.S. representatives and senators to discuss issues that have a major impact on members and their patients. Contributions help elect or re-elect candidates who can be helpful with such issues.
The SVS PAC will hold a reception and “thank you” for those donors who have contributed to the PAC since Jan. 1, 2016. This includes donations received during the 2017 Vascular Annual Meeting.
The reception will be held from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 1, in the La Costa Room at the Marriott Marquis.
Contributions are critically important to the future of members, their profession and their practices, PAC leaders say.
“A good offense – great advocacy – is the best defense when confronted with so many unknowns today,” said Carlo A. Dall’Olmo, former SVS PAC chair. “The challenges are obvious, and they are present on both sides of the aisle. … (contributions) to the SVS/PAC will allow us to advocate at every opportunity.”
Thursday, June 1
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Marriott Marquis, La Costa Room
South Tower, fourth floor
PAC Reception
Saturday - On Tap
It’s the final day of the Vascular Annual Meeting – and there is plenty on the agenda to keep you busy.
6:30 to 8:00 a.m. – Three Breakfast Sessions: “Beyond the Basics of Hemodialysis Access,” “The Treatment of Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers,” and “How to Write a Paper and Have it Accepted in the JVS or EJVES.”
8:00 to 10:00 a.m. – Plenary 7 and Plenary 8. With so many high-quality abstracts submitted, two plenary sessions are set for Saturday; Plenary 8 includes late-breaking abstracts and the Vascular Quality Initiative. SDCC, Room 6 A/B
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – It’s your last chance to visit the Exhibit Hall to see what’s new and improved. Exhibit Hall B.
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Four concurrent sessions, on the modern VA vascular practice and three joint sessions with an alphabet soup of allied societies, on medical management of vascular disease (SVM), collaboration of vascular surgeons and nurses (SVN), and building and managing a vascular laboratory (SVU).
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Top 10 papers relevant to vascular surgery that were NOT published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. SDCC, Room 6 A/B.
12:00 p.m. – SVS members, see the passing of the gavel and other business issues, as well as award presentations. SDCC, Room 6 D/E.
1:30 to 3:30 p.m. – Sometimes seeing makes more of an impact than listening. The “How I do it” Video Session will feature 11 video abstracts on a variety of topics. SDCC, Room 6C.
1:30 to 5:00 p.m. – RPVI exam preparation, in collaboration with the Society for Vascular Ultrasound. SDCC, Room 4.
1:30 to 5:15 p.m. – Aortic Summit, with the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. SDCC, Room 3.
3:30 to 4:30 p.m. – Poster Runoff: Championship Round. From 120 posters to just 10, with three winners selected by the audience. SDCC, Room 6C.
It’s the final day of the Vascular Annual Meeting – and there is plenty on the agenda to keep you busy.
6:30 to 8:00 a.m. – Three Breakfast Sessions: “Beyond the Basics of Hemodialysis Access,” “The Treatment of Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers,” and “How to Write a Paper and Have it Accepted in the JVS or EJVES.”
8:00 to 10:00 a.m. – Plenary 7 and Plenary 8. With so many high-quality abstracts submitted, two plenary sessions are set for Saturday; Plenary 8 includes late-breaking abstracts and the Vascular Quality Initiative. SDCC, Room 6 A/B
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – It’s your last chance to visit the Exhibit Hall to see what’s new and improved. Exhibit Hall B.
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Four concurrent sessions, on the modern VA vascular practice and three joint sessions with an alphabet soup of allied societies, on medical management of vascular disease (SVM), collaboration of vascular surgeons and nurses (SVN), and building and managing a vascular laboratory (SVU).
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Top 10 papers relevant to vascular surgery that were NOT published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. SDCC, Room 6 A/B.
12:00 p.m. – SVS members, see the passing of the gavel and other business issues, as well as award presentations. SDCC, Room 6 D/E.
1:30 to 3:30 p.m. – Sometimes seeing makes more of an impact than listening. The “How I do it” Video Session will feature 11 video abstracts on a variety of topics. SDCC, Room 6C.
1:30 to 5:00 p.m. – RPVI exam preparation, in collaboration with the Society for Vascular Ultrasound. SDCC, Room 4.
1:30 to 5:15 p.m. – Aortic Summit, with the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. SDCC, Room 3.
3:30 to 4:30 p.m. – Poster Runoff: Championship Round. From 120 posters to just 10, with three winners selected by the audience. SDCC, Room 6C.
It’s the final day of the Vascular Annual Meeting – and there is plenty on the agenda to keep you busy.
6:30 to 8:00 a.m. – Three Breakfast Sessions: “Beyond the Basics of Hemodialysis Access,” “The Treatment of Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers,” and “How to Write a Paper and Have it Accepted in the JVS or EJVES.”
8:00 to 10:00 a.m. – Plenary 7 and Plenary 8. With so many high-quality abstracts submitted, two plenary sessions are set for Saturday; Plenary 8 includes late-breaking abstracts and the Vascular Quality Initiative. SDCC, Room 6 A/B
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – It’s your last chance to visit the Exhibit Hall to see what’s new and improved. Exhibit Hall B.
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Four concurrent sessions, on the modern VA vascular practice and three joint sessions with an alphabet soup of allied societies, on medical management of vascular disease (SVM), collaboration of vascular surgeons and nurses (SVN), and building and managing a vascular laboratory (SVU).
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Top 10 papers relevant to vascular surgery that were NOT published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. SDCC, Room 6 A/B.
12:00 p.m. – SVS members, see the passing of the gavel and other business issues, as well as award presentations. SDCC, Room 6 D/E.
1:30 to 3:30 p.m. – Sometimes seeing makes more of an impact than listening. The “How I do it” Video Session will feature 11 video abstracts on a variety of topics. SDCC, Room 6C.
1:30 to 5:00 p.m. – RPVI exam preparation, in collaboration with the Society for Vascular Ultrasound. SDCC, Room 4.
1:30 to 5:15 p.m. – Aortic Summit, with the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. SDCC, Room 3.
3:30 to 4:30 p.m. – Poster Runoff: Championship Round. From 120 posters to just 10, with three winners selected by the audience. SDCC, Room 6C.
For Dr. Dardik the First, a First-Rate Award
In the early 1950s, an aspiring teen pianist named Herbert Dardik got his big break – a chance to play on the “Ted Mack Amateur Hour.”
Sadly, he didn’t win. He was down but not out until the family’s piano teacher finally told him, “Your brother Irving has talent. You are a hard worker.” That was the last straw.
Happily for vascular surgery, he gave up on a musical career and ended up becoming a surgeon.
He almost didn’t become a vascular surgeon because he found it disheartening. During his early training, he said, “Usually our leg biopsies failed and became amputations. Our carotids failed and became strokes, and an aneurysm, if (the patient were) still alive after 13 days, would not be for long.”
But over time, vascular surgery benefited from an explosion of innovation and research. “Today,” Dr. Dardik said, “it’s a different world.”
He built his career and reputation over many years at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey, where he still, at age 82, holds regular office hours, runs student and resident programs, and works in his research lab.
Dr. Dardik has been honored at this year’s Vascular Annual Meeting with the Society’s highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award.
According to nominator Richard Lynn, MD, Dr. Dardik is the “first true private practice/community practice individual to win this award. Dr. Dardik is the quintessential complete physician, surgeon, teacher, researcher, clinician, community practitioner/academician, father, husband, brother, and respected colleague.”
The SVS Fellows Council selects the Lifetime Achievement recipient to recognize that member’s outstanding and sustained contributions both to the profession and to the SVS, as well as exemplary professional practice and leadership.
Dr. Dardik is known for his clinical research and his pioneering contributions in lower extremity bypass surgery. His innovative work on the umbilical vein graft, the first bioengineered biologic graft, earned him the Hektoen Gold Medal from the American Medical Association. This work led to his development of the distal arterio-venous fistula as an adjunct to small-vessel bypass in order to enhance patency.
Currently, he is exploring the use of the umbilical cord artery as an aortic interposition graft in the rat. This murine model is also used to enhance resident skills for extremely challenging surgeries. The laboratory also serves as a training site for high school and college students interested in science and medicine. Since 1996, more than 300 high school juniors and seniors have come under the influence of Dr. Dardik.
He is a director and founding member of the Bloodless Program at Englewood and also established one of the earliest wound care centers and approved vascular laboratories. He was an early advocate of completion angiography, completion sonography, and avoidance of radiation in the operating room and has designed and developed vascular tools including clamps, tunnelers, and retractors.
Further contributions include his work on the nationalization of the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery and as a founding member of the Eastern Vascular Society and the Vascular Society of New Jersey. He served all three as president.
He has given nearly 450 invited lectures and chaired an annual Vascular Symposium for 15 years. His numerous publications have enabled him to mentor his students in writing in addition to how to read the enormous body of literature.
His pioneering work in crural revascularization was recognized in the book Band of Brothers, Creators of Modern Vascular Surgery.
Just last year he was awarded the Julius Jacobson Teaching Award at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City as an outstanding mentor. Over the past four decades he trained more than 40 vascular trainees in his vascular fellowship program. To this day, he retains the title of Chief Emeritus of Vascular and General Surgery at Englewood Hospital Medical Center as well as the title of Professor of Surgery.
He has also seen his love of medicine passed on to each of his three children: Alan, a vascular surgeon (and SVS member), Michael, a pathologist, and Sharon, a pediatrician.
If asked about his retirement plans, he’ll demur.
“What’s that word? I’ve never heard that word! It’s so much fun I cannot possibly leave,” he said. “I look forward to coming in, but now I don’t have to put on the alarm clock for 5 a.m. and that has been terrific.”
He maintains there is one other reason he stays on at Englewood. “I have the best office. I can’t give it up!”
In the early 1950s, an aspiring teen pianist named Herbert Dardik got his big break – a chance to play on the “Ted Mack Amateur Hour.”
Sadly, he didn’t win. He was down but not out until the family’s piano teacher finally told him, “Your brother Irving has talent. You are a hard worker.” That was the last straw.
Happily for vascular surgery, he gave up on a musical career and ended up becoming a surgeon.
He almost didn’t become a vascular surgeon because he found it disheartening. During his early training, he said, “Usually our leg biopsies failed and became amputations. Our carotids failed and became strokes, and an aneurysm, if (the patient were) still alive after 13 days, would not be for long.”
But over time, vascular surgery benefited from an explosion of innovation and research. “Today,” Dr. Dardik said, “it’s a different world.”
He built his career and reputation over many years at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey, where he still, at age 82, holds regular office hours, runs student and resident programs, and works in his research lab.
Dr. Dardik has been honored at this year’s Vascular Annual Meeting with the Society’s highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award.
According to nominator Richard Lynn, MD, Dr. Dardik is the “first true private practice/community practice individual to win this award. Dr. Dardik is the quintessential complete physician, surgeon, teacher, researcher, clinician, community practitioner/academician, father, husband, brother, and respected colleague.”
The SVS Fellows Council selects the Lifetime Achievement recipient to recognize that member’s outstanding and sustained contributions both to the profession and to the SVS, as well as exemplary professional practice and leadership.
Dr. Dardik is known for his clinical research and his pioneering contributions in lower extremity bypass surgery. His innovative work on the umbilical vein graft, the first bioengineered biologic graft, earned him the Hektoen Gold Medal from the American Medical Association. This work led to his development of the distal arterio-venous fistula as an adjunct to small-vessel bypass in order to enhance patency.
Currently, he is exploring the use of the umbilical cord artery as an aortic interposition graft in the rat. This murine model is also used to enhance resident skills for extremely challenging surgeries. The laboratory also serves as a training site for high school and college students interested in science and medicine. Since 1996, more than 300 high school juniors and seniors have come under the influence of Dr. Dardik.
He is a director and founding member of the Bloodless Program at Englewood and also established one of the earliest wound care centers and approved vascular laboratories. He was an early advocate of completion angiography, completion sonography, and avoidance of radiation in the operating room and has designed and developed vascular tools including clamps, tunnelers, and retractors.
Further contributions include his work on the nationalization of the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery and as a founding member of the Eastern Vascular Society and the Vascular Society of New Jersey. He served all three as president.
He has given nearly 450 invited lectures and chaired an annual Vascular Symposium for 15 years. His numerous publications have enabled him to mentor his students in writing in addition to how to read the enormous body of literature.
His pioneering work in crural revascularization was recognized in the book Band of Brothers, Creators of Modern Vascular Surgery.
Just last year he was awarded the Julius Jacobson Teaching Award at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City as an outstanding mentor. Over the past four decades he trained more than 40 vascular trainees in his vascular fellowship program. To this day, he retains the title of Chief Emeritus of Vascular and General Surgery at Englewood Hospital Medical Center as well as the title of Professor of Surgery.
He has also seen his love of medicine passed on to each of his three children: Alan, a vascular surgeon (and SVS member), Michael, a pathologist, and Sharon, a pediatrician.
If asked about his retirement plans, he’ll demur.
“What’s that word? I’ve never heard that word! It’s so much fun I cannot possibly leave,” he said. “I look forward to coming in, but now I don’t have to put on the alarm clock for 5 a.m. and that has been terrific.”
He maintains there is one other reason he stays on at Englewood. “I have the best office. I can’t give it up!”
In the early 1950s, an aspiring teen pianist named Herbert Dardik got his big break – a chance to play on the “Ted Mack Amateur Hour.”
Sadly, he didn’t win. He was down but not out until the family’s piano teacher finally told him, “Your brother Irving has talent. You are a hard worker.” That was the last straw.
Happily for vascular surgery, he gave up on a musical career and ended up becoming a surgeon.
He almost didn’t become a vascular surgeon because he found it disheartening. During his early training, he said, “Usually our leg biopsies failed and became amputations. Our carotids failed and became strokes, and an aneurysm, if (the patient were) still alive after 13 days, would not be for long.”
But over time, vascular surgery benefited from an explosion of innovation and research. “Today,” Dr. Dardik said, “it’s a different world.”
He built his career and reputation over many years at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey, where he still, at age 82, holds regular office hours, runs student and resident programs, and works in his research lab.
Dr. Dardik has been honored at this year’s Vascular Annual Meeting with the Society’s highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award.
According to nominator Richard Lynn, MD, Dr. Dardik is the “first true private practice/community practice individual to win this award. Dr. Dardik is the quintessential complete physician, surgeon, teacher, researcher, clinician, community practitioner/academician, father, husband, brother, and respected colleague.”
The SVS Fellows Council selects the Lifetime Achievement recipient to recognize that member’s outstanding and sustained contributions both to the profession and to the SVS, as well as exemplary professional practice and leadership.
Dr. Dardik is known for his clinical research and his pioneering contributions in lower extremity bypass surgery. His innovative work on the umbilical vein graft, the first bioengineered biologic graft, earned him the Hektoen Gold Medal from the American Medical Association. This work led to his development of the distal arterio-venous fistula as an adjunct to small-vessel bypass in order to enhance patency.
Currently, he is exploring the use of the umbilical cord artery as an aortic interposition graft in the rat. This murine model is also used to enhance resident skills for extremely challenging surgeries. The laboratory also serves as a training site for high school and college students interested in science and medicine. Since 1996, more than 300 high school juniors and seniors have come under the influence of Dr. Dardik.
He is a director and founding member of the Bloodless Program at Englewood and also established one of the earliest wound care centers and approved vascular laboratories. He was an early advocate of completion angiography, completion sonography, and avoidance of radiation in the operating room and has designed and developed vascular tools including clamps, tunnelers, and retractors.
Further contributions include his work on the nationalization of the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery and as a founding member of the Eastern Vascular Society and the Vascular Society of New Jersey. He served all three as president.
He has given nearly 450 invited lectures and chaired an annual Vascular Symposium for 15 years. His numerous publications have enabled him to mentor his students in writing in addition to how to read the enormous body of literature.
His pioneering work in crural revascularization was recognized in the book Band of Brothers, Creators of Modern Vascular Surgery.
Just last year he was awarded the Julius Jacobson Teaching Award at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City as an outstanding mentor. Over the past four decades he trained more than 40 vascular trainees in his vascular fellowship program. To this day, he retains the title of Chief Emeritus of Vascular and General Surgery at Englewood Hospital Medical Center as well as the title of Professor of Surgery.
He has also seen his love of medicine passed on to each of his three children: Alan, a vascular surgeon (and SVS member), Michael, a pathologist, and Sharon, a pediatrician.
If asked about his retirement plans, he’ll demur.
“What’s that word? I’ve never heard that word! It’s so much fun I cannot possibly leave,” he said. “I look forward to coming in, but now I don’t have to put on the alarm clock for 5 a.m. and that has been terrific.”
He maintains there is one other reason he stays on at Englewood. “I have the best office. I can’t give it up!”
Highlights from new guidelines, and a chance to weigh in
Though the Society for Vascular Surgery has long published clinical practice guidelines, its 2017 annual meeting marks the first seminar dedicated to guidelines in progress, allowing for more interaction, debate, and feedback across the vascular community before these guidelines become final.
At Friday afternoon’s update on SVS clinical practice guidelines, speakers will present on four that are in advanced development, including new global vascular guidelines.
Session moderator Thomas Forbes, MD, chair of vascular surgery at the University of Toronto, heads the SVS’s document oversight committee, which is responsible for guideline development. “It’s important to remember that guidelines are a work in progress,“ Dr. Forbes said, calling the session “an opportunity to get some direct verbal feedback close to the final time of completion of these guidelines and to try and engage the membership in the process a bit more.”
All too often, Dr. Forbes said, the guideline process can seem opaque, or top-town or cumbersome in soliciting and incorporating feedback – problems that this kind of interactive seminar can help rectify. “We don’t want to be Moses with the tablet from the mountain, handing them down and asking everybody to follow them without question,” he said.
Keith D. Calligaro, MD, who practices in Philadelphia, starts the seminar off with highlights from new guidelines on hospital privileges across practice settings, an update of SVS guidelines from 2008. The new guidelines “describe specific procedure-related training requirements that would then lead to privileges in a hospital setting. This is especially relevant in some of the practice environments in the U.S.,” Dr. Forbes said.
R. Eugene Zierler, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, will present broad-reaching new advice on the follow-up of patients after vascular procedures. These guidelines cover patients who’ve undergone a wide variety of procedures, “all the way from carotid to abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs to venous surgery – and offers specific, evidence-based recommendations for how patients should be followed up, how often they should undergo imaging, bloodwork, and other follow-up modalities,” Dr. Forbes said.
And Elliot Chaikof, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, will discuss new guidelines on the care of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms that incorporates “what we know today about the different therapeutic options: from medical management to endovascular and open repair to different treatment strategies for men and women – all this based on advances from the last couple years,” Dr. Forbes said.
Finally, in separate talks, two presenters will describe different elements of a new global vascular guideline developed jointly by the SVS, the European Society for Vascular Surgery, and the World Federation of Vascular Societies.
Andrew W. Bradbury, MD, of the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and Michael S. Conte of the University of California San Francisco will speak on some issues the guidelines are tackling, all with an aim to reflect a more inclusive, worldwide picture of vascular practice.
“This is the first time we’re going to hear what these recommendations are,” Dr. Forbes said. One highlight is likely to be a new global classification system for peripheral arterial disease. “This is a new and novel concept in vascular disease, and that is similar to the classification systems used for cancer,” Dr. Forbes said.
Dr. Forbes said that he hopes that a seminar focused on guidelines in progress will become a regular feature of the annual meeting, and that this year’s seminar will help shape the society’s approach to future guidelines as well.
“Members may know of areas of vascular surgery where there’s a real need for guidelines, or some evidence-based recommendations that we don’t have, and we’d love them to come forward and propose those topics,” he said. “We need practitioners in academic centers and community practitioners alike, to represent the breath of the work being done out there.”
Friday, June 2
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., SDCC, Room 4
C9: Update on Society for Vascular Surgery Clinical Practice Guidelines
Though the Society for Vascular Surgery has long published clinical practice guidelines, its 2017 annual meeting marks the first seminar dedicated to guidelines in progress, allowing for more interaction, debate, and feedback across the vascular community before these guidelines become final.
At Friday afternoon’s update on SVS clinical practice guidelines, speakers will present on four that are in advanced development, including new global vascular guidelines.
Session moderator Thomas Forbes, MD, chair of vascular surgery at the University of Toronto, heads the SVS’s document oversight committee, which is responsible for guideline development. “It’s important to remember that guidelines are a work in progress,“ Dr. Forbes said, calling the session “an opportunity to get some direct verbal feedback close to the final time of completion of these guidelines and to try and engage the membership in the process a bit more.”
All too often, Dr. Forbes said, the guideline process can seem opaque, or top-town or cumbersome in soliciting and incorporating feedback – problems that this kind of interactive seminar can help rectify. “We don’t want to be Moses with the tablet from the mountain, handing them down and asking everybody to follow them without question,” he said.
Keith D. Calligaro, MD, who practices in Philadelphia, starts the seminar off with highlights from new guidelines on hospital privileges across practice settings, an update of SVS guidelines from 2008. The new guidelines “describe specific procedure-related training requirements that would then lead to privileges in a hospital setting. This is especially relevant in some of the practice environments in the U.S.,” Dr. Forbes said.
R. Eugene Zierler, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, will present broad-reaching new advice on the follow-up of patients after vascular procedures. These guidelines cover patients who’ve undergone a wide variety of procedures, “all the way from carotid to abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs to venous surgery – and offers specific, evidence-based recommendations for how patients should be followed up, how often they should undergo imaging, bloodwork, and other follow-up modalities,” Dr. Forbes said.
And Elliot Chaikof, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, will discuss new guidelines on the care of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms that incorporates “what we know today about the different therapeutic options: from medical management to endovascular and open repair to different treatment strategies for men and women – all this based on advances from the last couple years,” Dr. Forbes said.
Finally, in separate talks, two presenters will describe different elements of a new global vascular guideline developed jointly by the SVS, the European Society for Vascular Surgery, and the World Federation of Vascular Societies.
Andrew W. Bradbury, MD, of the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and Michael S. Conte of the University of California San Francisco will speak on some issues the guidelines are tackling, all with an aim to reflect a more inclusive, worldwide picture of vascular practice.
“This is the first time we’re going to hear what these recommendations are,” Dr. Forbes said. One highlight is likely to be a new global classification system for peripheral arterial disease. “This is a new and novel concept in vascular disease, and that is similar to the classification systems used for cancer,” Dr. Forbes said.
Dr. Forbes said that he hopes that a seminar focused on guidelines in progress will become a regular feature of the annual meeting, and that this year’s seminar will help shape the society’s approach to future guidelines as well.
“Members may know of areas of vascular surgery where there’s a real need for guidelines, or some evidence-based recommendations that we don’t have, and we’d love them to come forward and propose those topics,” he said. “We need practitioners in academic centers and community practitioners alike, to represent the breath of the work being done out there.”
Friday, June 2
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., SDCC, Room 4
C9: Update on Society for Vascular Surgery Clinical Practice Guidelines
Though the Society for Vascular Surgery has long published clinical practice guidelines, its 2017 annual meeting marks the first seminar dedicated to guidelines in progress, allowing for more interaction, debate, and feedback across the vascular community before these guidelines become final.
At Friday afternoon’s update on SVS clinical practice guidelines, speakers will present on four that are in advanced development, including new global vascular guidelines.
Session moderator Thomas Forbes, MD, chair of vascular surgery at the University of Toronto, heads the SVS’s document oversight committee, which is responsible for guideline development. “It’s important to remember that guidelines are a work in progress,“ Dr. Forbes said, calling the session “an opportunity to get some direct verbal feedback close to the final time of completion of these guidelines and to try and engage the membership in the process a bit more.”
All too often, Dr. Forbes said, the guideline process can seem opaque, or top-town or cumbersome in soliciting and incorporating feedback – problems that this kind of interactive seminar can help rectify. “We don’t want to be Moses with the tablet from the mountain, handing them down and asking everybody to follow them without question,” he said.
Keith D. Calligaro, MD, who practices in Philadelphia, starts the seminar off with highlights from new guidelines on hospital privileges across practice settings, an update of SVS guidelines from 2008. The new guidelines “describe specific procedure-related training requirements that would then lead to privileges in a hospital setting. This is especially relevant in some of the practice environments in the U.S.,” Dr. Forbes said.
R. Eugene Zierler, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, will present broad-reaching new advice on the follow-up of patients after vascular procedures. These guidelines cover patients who’ve undergone a wide variety of procedures, “all the way from carotid to abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs to venous surgery – and offers specific, evidence-based recommendations for how patients should be followed up, how often they should undergo imaging, bloodwork, and other follow-up modalities,” Dr. Forbes said.
And Elliot Chaikof, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, will discuss new guidelines on the care of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms that incorporates “what we know today about the different therapeutic options: from medical management to endovascular and open repair to different treatment strategies for men and women – all this based on advances from the last couple years,” Dr. Forbes said.
Finally, in separate talks, two presenters will describe different elements of a new global vascular guideline developed jointly by the SVS, the European Society for Vascular Surgery, and the World Federation of Vascular Societies.
Andrew W. Bradbury, MD, of the University of Birmingham in the U.K. and Michael S. Conte of the University of California San Francisco will speak on some issues the guidelines are tackling, all with an aim to reflect a more inclusive, worldwide picture of vascular practice.
“This is the first time we’re going to hear what these recommendations are,” Dr. Forbes said. One highlight is likely to be a new global classification system for peripheral arterial disease. “This is a new and novel concept in vascular disease, and that is similar to the classification systems used for cancer,” Dr. Forbes said.
Dr. Forbes said that he hopes that a seminar focused on guidelines in progress will become a regular feature of the annual meeting, and that this year’s seminar will help shape the society’s approach to future guidelines as well.
“Members may know of areas of vascular surgery where there’s a real need for guidelines, or some evidence-based recommendations that we don’t have, and we’d love them to come forward and propose those topics,” he said. “We need practitioners in academic centers and community practitioners alike, to represent the breath of the work being done out there.”
Friday, June 2
3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., SDCC, Room 4
C9: Update on Society for Vascular Surgery Clinical Practice Guidelines
How to get published in JVS and EJVES: Editors disclose secrets of success
Over the past year, the Journal of Vascular Surgery and its two affiliated journals have undergone a number of important changes.
Editorial boards have been revamped, disadvantageous limits on the number of contributing authors and on references have been scrapped, and editors’ videos accompany every new issue. New short abstracts, take-home messages, and extended tables of contents allow even the most time-crunched clinicians to get up to speed.
Even the look of the journals has changed – with a red color scheme for JVS, a blue one for JVS-VL, the venous and lymphatic disorders journal, and a mixed red and blue one for the open-access publication dedicated to cases and techniques.
Peter Gloviczki, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., says he hopes these changes will help raise the journals’ impact, and improve the quality of submissions and the review process.
On Saturday morning, Dr. Gloviczki, the editor in chief of JVS, and senior editor Peter F. Lawrence helm a seminar that describes not only what they’ve been doing since taking over the journals’ leadership in July 2016, but how more SVS members can take part by producing quality papers or reviewing for the journals.
Dr. Gloviczki and Dr. Lawrence have also invited Dr. Philip Kolh if the University of Liege in Liege, Belgium, to co-lead the seminar. Dr. Kolh, who is editor in chief of the European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, will advise on what the EJVES is looking for in its reviews and submissions.
“We believe it is important for JVS and EJVES to work together, to develop joint guidelines, to avoid repetition and redundancy, and double-publish papers that are important for both readerships,” Dr. Gloviczki said.
Dr. Gloviczki will start the seminar off by discussing the sweeping changes aimed at raising the quality of all three JVS journals and, he hopes, will also affect their impact factor, currently at 3.45 for JVS.
In addition to increasing the scrutiny of the peer review and the number of statistical reviews performed by master statisticians, the editors are looking for systematic reviews, meta-analyses, practice guidelines, and reporting standards – and will publish paper types not previously accepted, such as study protocols.
The journal will retain many initiatives of the previous editors, including the international debates, and will continue recruiting international authors and reviewers. Having the best reviewers, Dr. Gloviczki noted, “is an important parallel to having top-quality studies.”
Dr. Lawrence, of the University of California Los Angeles, will discuss what makes a clinical research paper successful. “We want papers that are highly cited – and the highly cited papers are prospective studies, whether randomized controlled trials or single-arm cohort studies,” Dr. Gloviczki said. “We also favor large retrospective reviews of prospectively collected national or international registries.”
Peter Henke, MD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., will talk about what the JVS editors and reviewers want in basic science papers – which Dr. Gloviczki called an important and sometimes overlooked counterpart to the clinical studies. “We believe that our profession must be in charge of basic research, that whoever owns basic research in our field owns the disease,” he said.
“To understand vascular disease you have to start at the basics of anatomy, pathophysiology, etiology, prevention, presentation and finally treatment,” he said, noting that vascular surgeons at many academic centers are conducting experimental studies and other basic research, efforts often supported by SVS grants.
Last year the JVS editors re-named the journal’s basic science section and called it “From Bench to Bedside” to try and capture the importance of preclinical vascular studies. “It’s a relatively small section of our journal but it’s important,” Dr. Gloviczki said. “And now we are really pushing to get commentaries that emphasize the potential clinical application of the basic science research.”
Richard L. Amdur, MD, of George Washington University in Washington, DC, will talk about what the JVS journal editors want to see in terms of statistics, while Marc L. Schermerhorn, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and Martin Bjorck, MD, PhD, of Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, will both discuss mining the large vascular registries from the United States and Europe for studies attractive to JVS or EJVES.
“There are so many papers where real-world experience is given to us by analyzing these registries,” Dr. Gloviczki said. Studies from the SVS Vascular Quality Initiatives database, the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, the National Inpatient Sample, the Swedish Vascular registry, VADUNET and the International Consortium of Vascular Registries, “have changed the way we practice vascular surgery, and we publish multiple papers from these in every issue.”
Saturday, June 3
6:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.
Breakfast Session B9: How to Write a Paper and Have it Accepted in the JVS or EJVES
Over the past year, the Journal of Vascular Surgery and its two affiliated journals have undergone a number of important changes.
Editorial boards have been revamped, disadvantageous limits on the number of contributing authors and on references have been scrapped, and editors’ videos accompany every new issue. New short abstracts, take-home messages, and extended tables of contents allow even the most time-crunched clinicians to get up to speed.
Even the look of the journals has changed – with a red color scheme for JVS, a blue one for JVS-VL, the venous and lymphatic disorders journal, and a mixed red and blue one for the open-access publication dedicated to cases and techniques.
Peter Gloviczki, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., says he hopes these changes will help raise the journals’ impact, and improve the quality of submissions and the review process.
On Saturday morning, Dr. Gloviczki, the editor in chief of JVS, and senior editor Peter F. Lawrence helm a seminar that describes not only what they’ve been doing since taking over the journals’ leadership in July 2016, but how more SVS members can take part by producing quality papers or reviewing for the journals.
Dr. Gloviczki and Dr. Lawrence have also invited Dr. Philip Kolh if the University of Liege in Liege, Belgium, to co-lead the seminar. Dr. Kolh, who is editor in chief of the European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, will advise on what the EJVES is looking for in its reviews and submissions.
“We believe it is important for JVS and EJVES to work together, to develop joint guidelines, to avoid repetition and redundancy, and double-publish papers that are important for both readerships,” Dr. Gloviczki said.
Dr. Gloviczki will start the seminar off by discussing the sweeping changes aimed at raising the quality of all three JVS journals and, he hopes, will also affect their impact factor, currently at 3.45 for JVS.
In addition to increasing the scrutiny of the peer review and the number of statistical reviews performed by master statisticians, the editors are looking for systematic reviews, meta-analyses, practice guidelines, and reporting standards – and will publish paper types not previously accepted, such as study protocols.
The journal will retain many initiatives of the previous editors, including the international debates, and will continue recruiting international authors and reviewers. Having the best reviewers, Dr. Gloviczki noted, “is an important parallel to having top-quality studies.”
Dr. Lawrence, of the University of California Los Angeles, will discuss what makes a clinical research paper successful. “We want papers that are highly cited – and the highly cited papers are prospective studies, whether randomized controlled trials or single-arm cohort studies,” Dr. Gloviczki said. “We also favor large retrospective reviews of prospectively collected national or international registries.”
Peter Henke, MD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., will talk about what the JVS editors and reviewers want in basic science papers – which Dr. Gloviczki called an important and sometimes overlooked counterpart to the clinical studies. “We believe that our profession must be in charge of basic research, that whoever owns basic research in our field owns the disease,” he said.
“To understand vascular disease you have to start at the basics of anatomy, pathophysiology, etiology, prevention, presentation and finally treatment,” he said, noting that vascular surgeons at many academic centers are conducting experimental studies and other basic research, efforts often supported by SVS grants.
Last year the JVS editors re-named the journal’s basic science section and called it “From Bench to Bedside” to try and capture the importance of preclinical vascular studies. “It’s a relatively small section of our journal but it’s important,” Dr. Gloviczki said. “And now we are really pushing to get commentaries that emphasize the potential clinical application of the basic science research.”
Richard L. Amdur, MD, of George Washington University in Washington, DC, will talk about what the JVS journal editors want to see in terms of statistics, while Marc L. Schermerhorn, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and Martin Bjorck, MD, PhD, of Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, will both discuss mining the large vascular registries from the United States and Europe for studies attractive to JVS or EJVES.
“There are so many papers where real-world experience is given to us by analyzing these registries,” Dr. Gloviczki said. Studies from the SVS Vascular Quality Initiatives database, the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, the National Inpatient Sample, the Swedish Vascular registry, VADUNET and the International Consortium of Vascular Registries, “have changed the way we practice vascular surgery, and we publish multiple papers from these in every issue.”
Saturday, June 3
6:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.
Breakfast Session B9: How to Write a Paper and Have it Accepted in the JVS or EJVES
Over the past year, the Journal of Vascular Surgery and its two affiliated journals have undergone a number of important changes.
Editorial boards have been revamped, disadvantageous limits on the number of contributing authors and on references have been scrapped, and editors’ videos accompany every new issue. New short abstracts, take-home messages, and extended tables of contents allow even the most time-crunched clinicians to get up to speed.
Even the look of the journals has changed – with a red color scheme for JVS, a blue one for JVS-VL, the venous and lymphatic disorders journal, and a mixed red and blue one for the open-access publication dedicated to cases and techniques.
Peter Gloviczki, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., says he hopes these changes will help raise the journals’ impact, and improve the quality of submissions and the review process.
On Saturday morning, Dr. Gloviczki, the editor in chief of JVS, and senior editor Peter F. Lawrence helm a seminar that describes not only what they’ve been doing since taking over the journals’ leadership in July 2016, but how more SVS members can take part by producing quality papers or reviewing for the journals.
Dr. Gloviczki and Dr. Lawrence have also invited Dr. Philip Kolh if the University of Liege in Liege, Belgium, to co-lead the seminar. Dr. Kolh, who is editor in chief of the European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, will advise on what the EJVES is looking for in its reviews and submissions.
“We believe it is important for JVS and EJVES to work together, to develop joint guidelines, to avoid repetition and redundancy, and double-publish papers that are important for both readerships,” Dr. Gloviczki said.
Dr. Gloviczki will start the seminar off by discussing the sweeping changes aimed at raising the quality of all three JVS journals and, he hopes, will also affect their impact factor, currently at 3.45 for JVS.
In addition to increasing the scrutiny of the peer review and the number of statistical reviews performed by master statisticians, the editors are looking for systematic reviews, meta-analyses, practice guidelines, and reporting standards – and will publish paper types not previously accepted, such as study protocols.
The journal will retain many initiatives of the previous editors, including the international debates, and will continue recruiting international authors and reviewers. Having the best reviewers, Dr. Gloviczki noted, “is an important parallel to having top-quality studies.”
Dr. Lawrence, of the University of California Los Angeles, will discuss what makes a clinical research paper successful. “We want papers that are highly cited – and the highly cited papers are prospective studies, whether randomized controlled trials or single-arm cohort studies,” Dr. Gloviczki said. “We also favor large retrospective reviews of prospectively collected national or international registries.”
Peter Henke, MD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., will talk about what the JVS editors and reviewers want in basic science papers – which Dr. Gloviczki called an important and sometimes overlooked counterpart to the clinical studies. “We believe that our profession must be in charge of basic research, that whoever owns basic research in our field owns the disease,” he said.
“To understand vascular disease you have to start at the basics of anatomy, pathophysiology, etiology, prevention, presentation and finally treatment,” he said, noting that vascular surgeons at many academic centers are conducting experimental studies and other basic research, efforts often supported by SVS grants.
Last year the JVS editors re-named the journal’s basic science section and called it “From Bench to Bedside” to try and capture the importance of preclinical vascular studies. “It’s a relatively small section of our journal but it’s important,” Dr. Gloviczki said. “And now we are really pushing to get commentaries that emphasize the potential clinical application of the basic science research.”
Richard L. Amdur, MD, of George Washington University in Washington, DC, will talk about what the JVS journal editors want to see in terms of statistics, while Marc L. Schermerhorn, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and Martin Bjorck, MD, PhD, of Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, will both discuss mining the large vascular registries from the United States and Europe for studies attractive to JVS or EJVES.
“There are so many papers where real-world experience is given to us by analyzing these registries,” Dr. Gloviczki said. Studies from the SVS Vascular Quality Initiatives database, the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, the National Inpatient Sample, the Swedish Vascular registry, VADUNET and the International Consortium of Vascular Registries, “have changed the way we practice vascular surgery, and we publish multiple papers from these in every issue.”
Saturday, June 3
6:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.
Breakfast Session B9: How to Write a Paper and Have it Accepted in the JVS or EJVES