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

The January issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery and Lymphatic Disorders will offer something new for the new year: an article for which Continuing Medical Education credit is offered.

Preliminary available data from the groundbreaking CREST-2 trial indicate the value and positive results of intensive medical therapy, whether patients also received revascularization as well, said Dr. Brajesh K. Lal, principal investigator.

The holiday season – the season of caring and goodwill, for giving -- is upon us. It’s the season where people reach out to help people in need, to help make the world a better place, to impact the future through donations of time, effort and money.  

Since Congress scrapped the formula for Medicare reimbursement in 2015, SVS has worked closely with legislators to shape the replacement rule, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and ensure our members’ voices are heard on Capitol Hill.

Participants at the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) have lots more to look forward to than sunny skies, beaches and palm trees. A number of new program features are planned to add interest and value to the meeting, said Dr. Ron Dalman.

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The Vascular Annual Meeting abstract submission site opens Nov. 14 – and Dr. Ron Dalman hopes it is a beehive of activity from then until the Jan. 25, 2017, deadline.

In fact, he said, the over-arching theme of his three years as VAM program chair could be “more participation.”

Dr. Iraklis Pipinos has studied peripheral arterial disease for much of his career. His research, he said, got a tremendous boost from being awarded a K08 grant, the Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award, from the SVS Foundation, in 2005 to study the myopathy of PAD.

Vascular surgery has become an increasing clinical and technical area of expertise.