ROSEMONT, Ill., June 4, 2020 – Vascular surgeons from across the country are reporting health impacts on some patients, particularly elderly ones, in quarantine. The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) queried vascular surgeons regarding their concerns for patients’ health during the pandemic, and shared the findings as well as suggested solutions for patients with vascular disease who are confined at home.

BY BETH BALES

BY BETH BALES

ENDOVASCULAR ANEURYSM repair (EVAR) for a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) proved less hazardous than open repair within 30 days of the procedure, but there were no differences between 30 days and five years, and five to 10 years following repair, according to a study in the June issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.

BY BETH BALES

THE FIFTH EDITION of the Vascular Educational Self-Assessment Program (VESAP) will be available before the beginning of August, when VESAP4 expires.

The online program, with a companion app for off-line use, is designed to meet the requirements of the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery for continuing medical education and Maintenance of Certification self-assessment credits.

It’s here: 2020 is year four of the Quality Payment Program (QPP), established by the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (MACRA) in 2015. 

BY BETH BALES AND BRYAN KAY

Citing the health and the safety of SVS members, constituents and their patients as its chief concern, the SVS Executive Board on April 9 canceled the 2020 Vascular Annual meeting in Toronto as a live event.

The decision was made after monitoring the current trajectory and impact of COVID-19 in the United States and Canada, as well as the likely aftermath for SVS members in the months to follow the peak wave.

BY KRISTINA GILES, MD

I had the privilege of interviewing Alik Farber, MD, the division chief of vascular and endovascular surgery at Boston Medical Center in Boston, where he also is associate chair for clinical operations in the department of surgery. Of course, we all know him as one of the national co-chairs for the BEST-CLI (Best endovascular vs. best surgical therapy in patients with critical limb ischemia) clinical trial.

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BY BRYAN KAY

For a time, it was an issue increasingly knocking on the door of program directors and section chiefs in hospitals across the country as COVID-19 cases escalated in their areas: the redeployment of vascular surgeons and trainees to other areas of care.

It formed a central plank in a discussion over education, training and wellness during the second in the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) virtual Town Hall series (April 3) designed to help the specialty through the worst ravages of the coronavirus crisis.

BY BRYAN KAY

The contentious issue of the limited availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), and what this means for performing procedures, was given a robust airing during the first Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Town Hall, which focused on the early experiences of COVID-19.

BY BETH BALES

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) started 2020 with plans intensifying for the Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) in May, the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) in June, the launch of the branding initiative and a host of other SVS priorities.

Within eight weeks, COVID-19 had prompted a rapid, decisive pivot to SVS members’ changing and urgent needs. Members faced an upended practice landscape, with elective surgeries banned and financial concerns growing.