Applications for membership in SVS are due by March 1 and will be considered during the 2017 Vascular Annual Meeting, May 31-June 3. VAM is the only time each year that the Society votes on membership applications. Don’t delay; apply today.

Dr. Venita Chandra has some simple advice for those mulling membership in the Society for Vascular Surgery: Don’t hesitate. At all.  

Apply for Wylie Scholar Award (with Vascular Cures AND Foundation logos)
The SVS Foundation and Vascular Cures together sponsor the annual Wylie Scholar Award, a three-year, $150,000 grant awarded to a promising vascular surgeon-scientist in North America. The 2016 winner was Dr. Ryan McEnaney, who is researching the development of medical therapies to unblock arteries for patients for whom surgical procedures are not an option. 

In an instant in April 2013, Dr. Jeffrey A. Kalish went from Boston Marathon spectator to surgeon at Boston Medical Center, performing amputations, complex vascular repairs and other procedures. 

While Dr. Michael Dalsing doesn’t have a crystal ball, he is nonetheless making two predictions in the wake of the November presidential election:

1.    Changes will come to the Affordable Care Act.
2.    MACRA, MIPS and APMs, part of the replacement legislation for Medicare reimbursement, will remain and SVS members will need to learn about it. 

The 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule includes many changes beneficial to SVS members, following many months of work, including submission of comments, by SVS members and advocacy staff. The schedule was released on Nov. 2, 2016. 

Surgery is dangerous for cigarette smokers. If your surgeon recommends surgery, smoking cessation is a must. Ask for help if you need it.

If you can't quit on your own, ask physician for help

CHICAGO, Illinois, Jan. 18, 2017 – Cigarette smokers facing surgery should quit smoking as soon as possible, according to a new statement released jointly by the Societies for Vascular Surgery and Vascular Nursing.

SVS / SVN JOINT STATEMENT

Vascular Surgery Teams Urged to

Actively Provide Smokers with Cessation Assistance

CHICAGO, Illinois, Jan. 3, 2017 – The Society for Vascular Surgery and the Society for Vascular Nursing encourage vascular surgery teams to actively assist smokers with smoking cessation before surgery. The reasons are two-fold:



• Impending surgery provides many patients with a “teachable moment” (1) when they are more receptive to stopping a bad habit

The Society for Vascular Surgery and the Society for Vascular Nursing have signed an agreement in which the nursing association will be managed from the Chicago-based SVS office.

As Dr. Samson noted in his column (page 2), the words of Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan remind us the times are a-changing.