From Our Journal

The April Journal of Vascular Surgery takes a look at the “adequate” proximal seal for complicated type B aortic dissections. Failure to achieve any intramural hematoma-free proximal seal zone during such surgeries may be associated with higher degrees of retrograde type A dissection. The article is available open source through May 31 at vsweb.org/JVS-Proximal.

Your SVS: 2018 Was a Productive Year; No Slowdown Anticipated in 2019!

2019 is in full swing, with work continuing on a wide array of SVS objectives, events and priorities.

But before shutting the door completely on 2018, SVS members will be interested to see the lengthy list of achievements for the year.

Executive Director Kenneth M. Slaw, PhD, reviewed 2018 activities and their impact for the coming year for the Strategic Board of Directors at its retreat in early January:

Welcome to Our New Offices, New Era

As of this Specialist deadline date in late February, the SVS staff was still settling in, unpacking boxes, creating new work spaces and – a very important task! – locating the coffeemaker.

The Society for Vascular Surgery is open for business in its new headquarters office at 9400 W. Higgins Road in Rosemont, Ill., just minutes from O’Hare International Airport. Its new digs are, in the words of President Dr. Michel S. Makaroun, “a home for vascular surgeons from all over the country and around the world.”

VRIC: Highlighting Research in Vascular Calcification

Vascular calcification affects the vascular health of millions of patients. No current therapies exist to prevent or reverse it, and the problem has confounded researchers and physicians for decades.

The development of innovative treatment strategies requires both a better fundamental understanding of the problem and collaboration between vascular surgeons and vascular biologists/biomedical engineers. This year’s Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) will bring these audiences together and provide insight from key investigators in this field. V

SVS Announces New Task Force on Paclitaxel Safety

The following statement has been issued by the SVS:

ROSEMONT, Ill., March 6, 2019 – The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), the premier scientific organization devoted to the treatment of vascular disease, is concerned about a recent article in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggesting higher rates of two- and five-year mortality in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) treated with paclitaxel delivering devices.

SVS Member Alert: Check Your 2019 MIPS Eligibility Status

SVS members can now use the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Participation Status Tool to check your preliminary eligibility status for the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) 2019 performance period. The QPP Participation Status Tool currently shows preliminary 2019 eligibility status based on data from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018.  Later this year, CMS will update the tool to reflect final 2019 MIPS eligibility status based on data from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.