The 2017 Vascular Annual Meeting piled on the events: six postgraduate courses, and only time to attend three. Concurrent sessions that – true to their name – were held at the same time. Ditto with breakfast sessions. So, unless you used a time machine, there was no way to hit every session at VAM that you wanted to attend.

Now you can see what you missed, or view particularly useful sessions again. Purchase the On-Demand Library, a valuable resource of audio and slide recordings of numerous VAM educational session.

Other members of the 2017-2018 Executive Committee include:

Dr. Michel Makaroun, president-elect

Dr. Makaroun is a professor of surgery and of clinical and translational science at the University of Pittsburgh and served as SVS vice president during the presidency of Dr. Ronald Fairman.

Dr. R. Clement Darling III began his presidency of the Society for Vascular Surgery on Saturday, June 3, during the Vascular Annual Meeting.

1. What would you like your presidency remembered for?

Spending an entire day or so learning about the history of the Medicare and Medicaid programs? Fascinating, said Dr. Matthew Sideman, chair of the SVS Coding and Reimbursement Committee.

The experience was one of the highlights of his week at the Executive Leadership Program in Health Policy and Management at Brandeis University in 2016. The program also included participating in the American College of Surgeons Leadership and Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C., this past May.

Does the anemic – but high cardiac risk – patient need a blood transfusion, or not?

SVS member Dr. Panos Kougias is leading a study on the best transfusion approach when treating patients at high cardiac risk who become anemic postoperatively.

A total of 1,500 participants at 15 Veteran Administration hospitals will be randomly assigned to receive transfusion at one of two postoperative hemoglobin levels: liberal (less than 10 gm/dL) or restrictive (less than 7 gm/dL).

“Current practice of thoracic outlet decompression surgery in the United States.” J Vasc Surg Sept. 2017.

CHICAGO, Illinois, September 2017 – A national study has confirmed the safety of thoracic outlet decompression surgery, validating the findings of previous single-center experiences.

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is relatively rare but may affect those who use a lot of repetitive upper arm movements, such as athletes. It commonly becomes news when a professional athlete is sidelined for TOS surgery to repair nerve compression.

CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR PAD AND RELATED DISORDERS

PAD Clinical Practice Guidelines Pocket Card
One of our most popular pocket guidelines. From Guideline Central.

“Evaluation of Thrombolysis Using Tissue Plasminogen Activator in Lower Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis with Concomitant Femoral-Popliteal Venous Segment Involvement.” Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders, September, 2017.

The SVS Patient Safety Organization and M2S, in conjunction with the SVS, presented a webinar last month on getting started in the Medicare reimbursement program, including the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

For those who couldn't attend, it is posted, along with the presentation slides, on the Vascular Quality Initiative website's home page. View it today to get up to speed on MIPS and MACRA (Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015). 

GOOD NEWS FOR BASEBALL PITCHERS, OTHER ATHLETES

Large national study finds vascular surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome is safe

CHICAGO, Illinois, August 1, 2017 – A national study has confirmed the safety of decompression surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, also known as TOS. It’s good news for patients whose vascular surgeon has recommended surgery.