SVS: Building bridges between twin tracks of academic and private practice
By Beth Bales
For Laurel Hadley Hastings, MD, membership in the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) provides a great collection of valuable benefits.
Articles & Press Releases
Recent Articles
Quality Payment Program: The proposed updates slated for 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on surgery and medicine continues, prompting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to propose changes in year five of the CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP). These changes were to take effect Jan. 1, 2021.
Acute Superior Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis Results in High Rates of Readmission and Morbidity
Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders - Swift Anticoagulation, Early Recognition of Bowel Necrosis Key in Lowering Mortality Rates for Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis
PAD month, new app, membership dues
By Beth Bales
September is PAD Awareness Month, and the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has plenty of resources for its members.
Local matters: Three community service honorees in profile
By Beth Bales
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has honored three members in community practice for their leadership of patients and their local communities, as well as exemplary professional practice and leadership.
Dalman ponders challenges in year ahead
By Beth Bales
New SVS president Ronald L. Dalman, MD, has several initiatives he’d like to see move forward during the year of his presidency.
Keep the money you deserve
By Beth Bales
Coding for aneurysm repair, for catheterization, for lower-extremity amputation. Information on modifiers, not to mention reimbursement appeals.
Peripheral Arterial Disease Resources
"Hardening of the arteries" is a common disease that causes arteries to become clogged with plaque, much like old water pipes can become clogged with debris or lime. The condition can cause heart attacks and strokes, but another effect of cardiovascular disease is peripheral arterial disease (PAD), also called peripheral vascular disease, which affects the extremities, usually the toes, feet and legs. If you have PAD, you most likely have artery disease throughout the body.
Endovascular Repair of Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm is Superior to Open Repair: Propensity-Matched Analysis from the Vascular Quality Initiative
CHICAGO, Ill., August 24, 2020 – A large retrospective review of prospectively collected data from the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) reported in the August 2020 edition of the Journal of Vascular Surgery, suggested a more aggressive endovascular approac
Treatment Of Superficial And Perforator Reflux And Deep Venous Stenosis Improves Healing Of Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers
The Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders: Multimodal Therapy in Treating recalcitrant Venous Leg Ulcers
Society for Vascular Surgery Announces New Officers
ROSEMONT, Ill., August 11, 2020 – The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has announced its 2020-21 officers, including two elected via virtual voting for the first time in the organization’s history. Members were also able to select from a choice of candidates, with 482 eligible members – or 15.6 percent – casting votes for vice president and treasurer.
VESAP5 Available for Purchase
By Beth Bales
The fifth edition of the Vascular Educational Self-Assessment Program (VESAP), with a substantially enlarged section on vascular ultrasound and imaging, is now available for purchase.
From the Editor: On Professionals and Professionalism
On March 19, 2019, I sat in the audience of the scientific sessions at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery (SCVS). I was there with two of my trainees who were eagerly waiting to present their research.
A Vascular VISION: Improved Patient Care
By Beth Bales
Call it a VISION for improving patient care by being able to see how specific hospitals or institutions perform in terms of long-term patient outcomes following endovacular aneurysm repair (EVAR).
SVS Vows to Learn From Journal Episode
The recent publication and retraction in the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) of the article entitled “Prevalence of unprofessional social media content among young vascular surgeons” has prompted significant dialogue and outreach from Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) members to the leadership of the Society. We have listened and continue to welcome your feedback and thoughts, particularly from members in the early stages of their career.
Surgeons Speak Out to Stop Payment Cuts
John Calhoon, MD, FACS, STS is a cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Texas Health Center at San Antonio. In the San Antonio Express-News, he explained why Congress needs to prevent the upcoming Medicare payment cuts or else America’s most vulnerable patients will lose access to high quality and timely surgical care.
Dr. Dalman Invites SVS Members to Special Town Hall Session on 'Professionalism'
Dear Colleagues, This week's planned Town Hall on branding and valuation resources for our members has been delayed by a few weeks to provide an opportunity for the Society to come together and address the emergent issue of professionalism. In the aftermath of public discour
Recent Articles
Honor mentor with gift to SVS Foundation
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.
Stand up for Your Feet
Stand up for your feet. That is the message from David Armstrong, DPM, PhD, a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery and a podiatric surgeon.
Study Shows the Use of Temporary Intravascular Shunts Improves Early Limb Salvage after Extremity Vascular Injury
Rosemont, Illinois, April 14, 2021 – A multicenter retrospective study of the Prospective Observational Vascular Injury Treatment (PROOVIT) registry suggests the use of temporary intravascular shunts (TIVSs) results in lower rates of amputation during the early phase of care and should be part of
‘Latinx’: How to understand and use the term
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.
VAM travel scholarships open up to applicants April 21
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.
The Society for Vascular Surgery Partners with the Academy for Surgical Coaching to Take Wellness Support to the Next Level
New Customized, Peer-to-Peer Coaching Program Fills Gap in Health and Wellness Intervention for Vascular Surgeons
Emerging picture: VAM 2021 line-up shaping up into blockbuster event
The moving pieces that comprise the 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM), set to take place Aug. 18–21, are being assembled into a blockbuster whole. Though plenary sessions have yet to be structured, all of the invited sessions—“Ask the Experts,” breakfast and concurrent sessions, as well as postgraduate courses—are mapped out.
From the SET front: Through a patient's eyes
Winter time is never easy in the north. Ice, cold and snow make it tough to walk outside in Lansing, Michigan, during those bitter, dark months. So there is another, somewhat unavoidable obstacle in the way of SVS Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) app users as they bid to tackle their peripheral arterial disease (PAD) head on.
APDVS honors Jack L. Cronenwett with inaugural Lifetime Achievement in Education Award
The Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery (APDVS) bestowed its first-ever Lifetime Achievement in Education Award on the association’s one-time president Jack L. Cronenwett, MD, during its annual Spring Meeting (March 26–27).
VRIC to be held at VAM
In celebration of the 75th year of the SVS, the Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC), typically held in early May, is moving this year to be held during the 2021 VAM in August. In a year when so much has been challenging, SVS president Ronald Dalman, MD, and VAM leadership considered how VAM could serve as a “homecoming” for all vascular surgeons.
SVS introduces ‘Meet the Experts’ Webinar Series
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is introducing a new webinar series, with the first installment set to take place this month. The "Meet the Experts" Webinar Series will feature expert faculty and attendees interacting in small groups for shared learning and an intimate feel. The four one-hour webinars will focus on topics that are relevant and timely to vascular surgeons who are operating in vascular practice.
SVS PAC has weathered the storm of 2020
The year 2020 was one of firsts and of resilience. We had a plague of biblical proportions; civil unrest; fiery political and racial tensions; riots; polar vortices, where it was literally freezing in the Southwest; and, last but not least, the looming threat of Medicare cuts, limiting our patients’ access to care and fee cuts to all of our practices. All of this within the last year.
Vantage point: The SET coach's perspective
“A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.” Those are words ascribed to football coach Ara Parseghian, who guided the University of Notre Dame to two national championships in the 1960s and 70s. And that’s exactly what the coaches involved with the testing of the SVS Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) app, designed to help treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD), do. It turns out an app’s bells and whistles, and trackers and counters, can do only so much— the coach who helps patients through is integral.
Physician assistant community launches ‘PA Case of the Month’
To help broaden its physician assistant (PA) members’ knowledge of vascular care and help them engage and interact with each other virtually, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) PA Section has introduced the “PA Case of the Month.”
Recent Articles
Honor mentor with gift to SVS Foundation
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.
Stand up for Your Feet
Stand up for your feet. That is the message from David Armstrong, DPM, PhD, a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery and a podiatric surgeon.
Study Shows the Use of Temporary Intravascular Shunts Improves Early Limb Salvage after Extremity Vascular Injury
Rosemont, Illinois, April 14, 2021 – A multicenter retrospective study of the Prospective Observational Vascular Injury Treatment (PROOVIT) registry suggests the use of temporary intravascular shunts (TIVSs) results in lower rates of amputation during the early phase of care and should be part of
‘Latinx’: How to understand and use the term
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.
VAM travel scholarships open up to applicants April 21
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.
The Society for Vascular Surgery Partners with the Academy for Surgical Coaching to Take Wellness Support to the Next Level
New Customized, Peer-to-Peer Coaching Program Fills Gap in Health and Wellness Intervention for Vascular Surgeons
Emerging picture: VAM 2021 line-up shaping up into blockbuster event
The moving pieces that comprise the 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM), set to take place Aug. 18–21, are being assembled into a blockbuster whole. Though plenary sessions have yet to be structured, all of the invited sessions—“Ask the Experts,” breakfast and concurrent sessions, as well as postgraduate courses—are mapped out.
From the SET front: Through a patient's eyes
Winter time is never easy in the north. Ice, cold and snow make it tough to walk outside in Lansing, Michigan, during those bitter, dark months. So there is another, somewhat unavoidable obstacle in the way of SVS Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) app users as they bid to tackle their peripheral arterial disease (PAD) head on.
APDVS honors Jack L. Cronenwett with inaugural Lifetime Achievement in Education Award
The Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery (APDVS) bestowed its first-ever Lifetime Achievement in Education Award on the association’s one-time president Jack L. Cronenwett, MD, during its annual Spring Meeting (March 26–27).
VRIC to be held at VAM
In celebration of the 75th year of the SVS, the Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC), typically held in early May, is moving this year to be held during the 2021 VAM in August. In a year when so much has been challenging, SVS president Ronald Dalman, MD, and VAM leadership considered how VAM could serve as a “homecoming” for all vascular surgeons.
SVS introduces ‘Meet the Experts’ Webinar Series
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is introducing a new webinar series, with the first installment set to take place this month. The "Meet the Experts" Webinar Series will feature expert faculty and attendees interacting in small groups for shared learning and an intimate feel. The four one-hour webinars will focus on topics that are relevant and timely to vascular surgeons who are operating in vascular practice.
SVS PAC has weathered the storm of 2020
The year 2020 was one of firsts and of resilience. We had a plague of biblical proportions; civil unrest; fiery political and racial tensions; riots; polar vortices, where it was literally freezing in the Southwest; and, last but not least, the looming threat of Medicare cuts, limiting our patients’ access to care and fee cuts to all of our practices. All of this within the last year.
Vantage point: The SET coach's perspective
“A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.” Those are words ascribed to football coach Ara Parseghian, who guided the University of Notre Dame to two national championships in the 1960s and 70s. And that’s exactly what the coaches involved with the testing of the SVS Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) app, designed to help treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD), do. It turns out an app’s bells and whistles, and trackers and counters, can do only so much— the coach who helps patients through is integral.
Physician assistant community launches ‘PA Case of the Month’
To help broaden its physician assistant (PA) members’ knowledge of vascular care and help them engage and interact with each other virtually, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) PA Section has introduced the “PA Case of the Month.”