The Society for Vascular Surgery extends its condolences to the family of Dr. Denton Cooley, one of our vascular surgery pioneers, who passed away Nov. 18, 2016 at the age of 96.

A long-time member of the Society and a lifelong resident of Houston, Texas, Dr. Cooley was an undisputed leader in the field of vascular surgery. In 1968 he performed the first successful heart transplant in the U.S. and a year later implanted the first artificial heart. He was founder and surgeon-in-chief of Texas Heart Institute. He developed many of the vascular procedures we still use today.

It was my privilege to interview Dr. Alan M. Dietzek. He is Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut, current IAC board president, and president-elect of the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery. As our series continues to explore "what defines success in leadership,” my charge for Dr. Dietzek was to focus on how he enables others to act and forms effective care and office teams. 

This is November, the month of Veterans Day. And the experience of being a surgeon during war is one of the highlights of the SVS History Project Work Group’s new video, an interview with Dr. Milton Weinberg, a member since the mid-1960s.

Dr. Jens Eldrup-Jorgensen has been named the new medical director of the Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization (SVS PSO). 

Membership is An Opportunity Writ Large

In his seminal work “Democracy in America,” published in 1835, the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that the drive for various communities to unite “in association” was a unique and distinguishing attribute to the newly developing democracy in America. “Americans of all ages, all conditions, all minds constantly unite,” he wrote. “There is nothing that deserves more to attract our regard than the intellectual and moral associations of America.

Leadership Corner - Challenging the Process

By Elina Quiroga
Leadership Development and Diversity Committee 

 

“I would love to see more vascular surgeon-led sites participate and more physicians participate more fully”- Dr. David Gillespie

Vascular surgeons have the opportunity to help create standards re, track patients who need inferior vena cava filters removed and, ultimately, set guidelines for the treatment of thromboembolism through participating in a national study on the real-world use of the filters.  

Dr. Grace Wang interviews SVS President Dr. Ron Fairman on how we define leadership skills.

People who live with diabetes know they have a lot of health management to do – monitor their blood sugar, stay alert for eye problems and monitor for foot infections.

But some may not understand that many of the most common complications of diabetes stem from one primary issue: the havoc that high blood sugar, also called hyperglycemia, causes for the body's blood vessels. Because blood brings oxygen to every living cell in the body, when blood vessels aren't working properly, the body suffers.

Resources for patients, families and physicians

Considered one of the largest global health emergencies, diabetes is dangerous in large part because high blood sugar damages blood vessels. It also magnifies the effects of other health complications.

For Patients and Families - How Diabetes Affects Vascular Health

For more information, see: