A three-year study, which gives patients a better way to talk to their surgeon, has earned a $2.1 million grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Initiative (PCORI).

A recent pilot study funded by a grant from the Society for Vascular Surgery Foundation has found that patients succeed in quitting smoking before surgery if they are offered the right kind of assistance.

The Society for Vascular Surgery, the American Podiatric Medical Association and the Society for Vascular Medicine collaboratively have published their first-ever set of clinical practice guidelines for treating the diabetic foot, based on a meta-analysis of the available literature. The guidelines, “The Management of the Diabetic Foot,” were developed after three years of study and were published online in late January and in print in the February 2016 edition of Journal for Vascular Surgery.

As of mid-December, researchers have activated the first 10 medical sites and enrolled the first nine patients in a study that will determine the safety and effectiveness of inferior vena cava filters, small, cage-like devices implanted to prevent life-threatening blood clots from reaching the heart or lungs. While vein filters have been in use for years, PRESERVE (Predicting the Safety and Effectiveness of Inferior Vena Cava Filters), is the first large-scale, multispecialty, prospective clinical research trial that will evaluate their real world safety and effectiveness. The inferior vena cava is the main vessel returning blood from the lower half of the body to the heart.

CHICAGO, Ill.— As he completed his term as president of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), Peter F. Lawrence, MD, began his term as chair of the SVS Foundation at the society’s 2015 annual meeting in Chicago in June.

CHICAGO, Ill.—Ronald M. Fairman, MD, was elected president-elect of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) at the organization’s 2015 annual meeting in June.

CHICAGO, Ill. —R. Clement Darling III, MD, was elected vice president of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) at the society’s 2015 annual meeting in June.

CHICAGO, Ill.—Bruce A. Perler, MD, MBA, was elected president of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) at the society’s 2015 annual meeting in June.