Articles & Press Releases

While the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects dominated 2020–21 fiscal year—including the cancellation of the live 2020 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM)—it did not deter progress on many important initiatives. “When covid hit, it intensified our focus on what was truly important: our members, their patients and the SVS as their Society,” said Executive Director Kenneth M. Slaw, PhD. “That focus was sustained the past 15 months and it has led to innovation and an unprecedented volume of member value programs.” He outlined important highlights from the fiscal year that ended March 31—just more than a year after the pandemic was declared—and the vital initiatives that continue to move forward.

The United States has been living through some charged times recently. Our profession is not immune to these conflagrations. In recent times, minority members of the diverse specialty of vascular surgery have seen people who look like them come under attack. And there are politicians and other actors who make it their mission to try to divide us. Against this backdrop, I will relate a personal journey of confronting discrimination and, ultimately, of hope and acceptance.

Kathryn Bowser, MD, a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, talks to Justin Michel, 29, who identifies as a non-binary trans masculine person, about the patient experience navigating medical care as an individual of minority sexual identity.

Organizers stress that the best way to experience the 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) is in-person, surrounded by friends and colleagues, participating in small-group sessions and seeing all the devices and information available in the Exhibit Hall. All the abstract-based plenary sessions will be live-streamed, as will four international events, specialty lectures and the two presidential addresses. A total of 15 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits can be earned from among the streamed sessions.

A few years ago, in his presidential address to the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society, Mark Mattos, MD, spoke eloquently about the need to “protect our specialty.” A large part of this, he argued, is protecting our patients; no other specialty in medicine can provide the type of comprehensive vascular care that we offer. The daily reality we all face is the potential for declining Medicare reimbursement for our services.

I doubt many people remember a specific time they watched C-SPAN, let alone the exact date. But on Dec. 18, 2010, there I was, in my Durham, North Carolina, apartment, watching the U.S. Senate vote on the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010. Up until 1993, the military forbade openly gay people from serving, even though it was common knowledge that gay men and women have served this country in every war.

Registration for the live, in-person 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) has begun—and organizers promise you won’t want to miss the meeting. VAM will be Aug. 18 to 21 in beautiful San Diego, California. Educational programming will be presented across all four days of the conference. The Exhibit Hall will be open Aug. 19 and 20. The registration and housing kick-off is especially welcome, say Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) leaders, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellation of VAM 2020 and also prompted SVS to move this year’s VAM from June to the August dates.

Members, be sure to register for the June 16 Virtual Annual Business Meeting, the first of two business meetings for 2021. Registration is required to assure A quorum. Register at vascular.org/ABM1Register. The second meeting will be held Saturday, Aug. 21, during the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM). The Wednesday, June 16, meeting will be from 6 to 7 p.m. Central Daylight Time. Members will hear reports from President Ronald L. Dalman, MD, Secretary Amy Reed, MD, and Treasurer Keith Calligaro, MD. Nominating Committee Chair R. Clement Darling III, MD, will present his report, announce the results of the election for SVS vice president and on bylaws revisions, and introduce the 2021–22 Officers.

Over the course of the last year, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has been on a journey toward fostering greater diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). From the nadir of #Medbikini almost a year ago, the SVS Executive Board has since embraced and published a report from the SVS DEI Task Force—now a full-fledged committee—that called for action and change.

“What do you mean your partner? Does that mean a man?” These were among the questions one of my mentors asked me when we were discussing my list of pros and cons regarding the vascular surgery residency training programs to which I would apply. “Yes, my partner is a man.” The expected “oh…” was a reply I heard going to research meetings and throughout the residency interview trail. Unclear was whether this “oh” was one of disappointment, a nervous response, or concern if I would “fit” in vascular surgery. This “oh” haunts me because, in one short utterance, all of my accomplishments can be easily stripped away.

This year, the two major meetings of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) that involve the presentation of scientific research are being housed in one tent. The Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC), typically held in May and geared to translational research, will be held over two sessions Thursday and Friday at the 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM). More than 25 abstracts will be presented in four sessions covering arterial remodeling and discovery science for venous disease; vascular regeneration, stem cells and wound healing; atherosclerosis and the role of the immune system; and aortopathies and novel vascular devices.

Racial and ethnically-based disparities exist in healthcare. To highlight these disparities, and what the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is doing to address them, the 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) will feature a special session on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). It will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 20, and will immediately precede the 2021 Presidential Address from Ronald L. Dalman, MD, at 11 a.m.

The recent decision from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to reduce the dedicated research effort from 75 to 50% for K awards is a landmark change and will have a tremendous impact on vascular surgeons.The decision affects the June 2021 submission date and applies to vascular, cardiothoracic and trauma surgeons, as well as interventional.

Register today for the remaining Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) "Meet the Experts" webinars, including "Redo Carotoid Revascularization,” to be held May 20. These webinars are free for SVS members and residents/trainees. Nonmembers will pay $35 for each webinar. They are limited to 100 participants to permit an intimate feel and provide for faculty-audience conversations.

Registration and housing are set to open in mid-May for the 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM), which takes place Aug. 18–21 in San Diego. Educational programming is ready to run across all four days, with exhibits open Thursday and Friday. The meeting will be subject to safety and health protocols likely to change between now and August.

The Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) is more anticipated than ever after the annus horribilis of 2020 and the pared-back, digital VAM alternative that was SVS ONLINE. While organizers have previously relayed the changes made for this year’s meeting, Program Committee co-chair Matthew Eagleton, MD, took the opportunity to once again emphasize the significant changes to its structure for 2021, with educational programming presented across all four days— Wednesday through Saturday.

Voting runs from May 17 to 24 on proposed bylaws amendments and for the position of vice president of the Society for Vascular Surgery. Immediately preceding the opening of voting, SVS leaders will host a Town Hall from 6 to 8 p.m. Central Daylight Time, “Leading the Way in 2021: An Evening with the Appointments and Nominating Committees.” President Ronald L. Dalman, MD, will facilitate the Town Hall.

Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) members can honor their mentors in a wonderful and consequential way by making a donation to the SVS Foundation in their mentors’ honor. Several members did just that for National Doctors’ Day, with $3,100 in contributions to recognize eight different SVS members. SVS members who would like to do the same may email the Foundation at SVSFoundation@vascularsociety.org for more information. When the Foundation’s new website—now in progress—is completed, honorarium gifts will be available online.

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and the Academy for Surgical Coaching are developing a first-of-its-kind coaching program that strengthens wellness support for vascular surgeons. Studies show they—along with physicians across specialties—are experiencing an increase in burnout, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation.

The SVS Political Action Committee (PAC) is critically important for our voices to be heard in the places where policies that affect all of our practices are being made. The PAC’s role is one of advocacy and influence—to educate Congress on the important policies and referendums that can have a direct effect on our patients and our practices.

Medical students and general surgery residents have until May 19 to apply for Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Annual Meeting travel scholarships. The scholarships are the SVS General Surgery Resident/Medical Student VAM Travel Scholarship and the SVS Diversity Medical Student VAM Travel Scholarship. Each provides not only a travel award to underwrite expenses to attend VAM, but also complimentary meeting registration, a mentorship program, and a dedicated educational and networking program.

Three members of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, chaired by Vincent M. Rowe, MD, explain use and understanding of the term Latinx.

Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) travel scholarships for trainees to attend the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) are set to begin accepting applications on April 21.