The Board of Directors of the Society for Vascular Surgery has voted to endorse a statement by the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons on firearm injuries.

“Comparison of Percutaneous Versus Open Femoral Cut Down Access for Endovascular Repair of Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.” Journal of Vascular Surgery, November, 2017

CHICAGO, Illinois, November, 2017 – Around 20 years ago, a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) was often an instant death sentence. More than half of patients never made it to the hospital alive and even if they did, the overall mortality rate was higher than 80 percent.

“Contemporary Outcomes of Elective Iliocaval and Infrainguinal Venous Intervention for Post-Thrombotic Chronic Venous Occlusive Disease." Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Diseases, November, 2017.

Enjoy Member Benefits, Perks of Belonging to SVS

The 2018 dues statements recently were emailed to all members.

Don't miss out on all the benefits of belonging to the SVS, including the prestige of being part of the world's largest professional association representing vascular surgeons; the JVS suite of publications; discounted registration fees for the Vascular Annual Meeting and the Vascular Research Initiatives Conference; grant programs; practice resources and reporting standards.

CHICAGO, Illinois, Oct. 17, 2017 – Are electronic cigarettes, which have been booming in popularity over the past 10 years, safer than regular cigarettes?

Like so many things, it’s complicated. Most research looks at whether vaping helps people quit smoking better than nicotine patches (inconclusive) and at the effect of vapor on the lungs (no tar is delivered by e-cigarettes, but plenty of chemicals are).

Consider Business, Disability Insurance, Plans for Staff

SVS members who are in private practice care not only for their patients but also their employees, with attendant financial obligations.

Physicians also need to prepare for the unexpected. Business protection solutions offered through the SVS Affinity Program of expanded benefits can help, with life and disability insurance for office staff and their families, plus business overhead insurance that will keep the business humming if one of the owners/top officials becomes disabled.

These include:

The Foundation has had a consequential year, with another beckoning, as the Foundation Board of Directors expanded the mission to add an emphasis on disease prevention and patient education.

The core commitment to fund basic and clinical research remains; the Foundation’s reach has broadened to include supporting programs that address patient vascular health and well-being, and to enact programs that, ultimately, will optimize the delivery of high-quality patient care.

After nearly six months of preliminary work, the APM Task Force now is focusing on developing a vascular-specific Advanced Alternative Payment Model.

From March to June, the task force examined existing APM models and the CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) criteria for acceptance. "Task force members also studied other physician-focused APM proposals, developed by societies similar to the SVS, to expand their knowledge about the application process. Similar methodologies will be applied to vascular conditions in our APM," said Dr. Yazan Duwayri, task force chair.

CHICAGO, Illinois, October, 2017 – Asymptomatic carotid stenosis may not be as silent as once thought.

A new prospective trial reported in the October Journal of Vascular Surgery found that around half of asymptomatic carotid stenosis patients had mild to moderate cognitive impairment.

The report clarifies the role of asymptomatic carotid stenosis independent of cerebral-vascular risk factors in the development of cognitive impairment and suggests hemodynamic impairment as a possible mechanism for this important finding.

Colleagues:

Please join me in sending our heartfelt prayers and thoughts to our Society members in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and all the areas recently hit by disaster.

We know that their days are now far longer and more filled with tragedy than they should be. While we are always proud of our members, we are especially heartened by those who toil tirelessly in times of emergency, whether it has been in recent weeks, on the battlefield or in previous disasters.