28th SVM Scientific Sessions Highlights

The 28th SVM Scientific Sessions were held in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 14–17, 2017. Once again, the meeting was a great success.

In total, we had approximately 325 attendees, 2 days of academic sessions on Thursday and Friday, a full day of vascular lab programming on Saturday, and six how-to workshops. We had two outstanding joint sessions with the American Venous Form (focus on iliac vein obstruction) and the American College of Phlebology (focus on superficial venous hemodynamics and new innovations in interface pressure measurement) during the meeting. Eight countries were represented in New Orleans with attendees from Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Greece, the Philippines (with a large contingency led by Dr Abola), and Taiwan.

The meeting started on Wednesday afternoon with meetings of the Board of Trustees, Vascular Medicine Editorial Board, American Board of Vascular Medicine, and various SVM committees. Once again, the Women in Vascular Medicine Reception was well attended and full of inspiration.

Thursday morning started with the Year in Review in Vascular Medicine, including updates on basic science, venous disease, and arterial disease, and my Editor’s Choice – Best of Vascular Medicine. Dr Mark Creager gave an inspiring Founders lecture entitled, ‘What’s Past is Prologue’. He gave five strategies to build a future for vascular medicine specialists: (1) enhance training, (2) provide professional education, (3) improve healthcare delivery, (4) advocate for policy, and (5) advance science. At the end of his presentation, I had the chance to announce the sponsorship of a new award, the Mark A. Creager Prize for Research Excellence, which will honor the top paper published in Vascular Medicine each year. The first Creager Prize will be awarded at next year’s SVM Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

A session dedicated to understanding sex differences in vascular disease was introduced by keynote speaker Dr C. Noel Bairy-Merz, who kicked things off by outlining key issues with a ‘10,000-feet’ view. Drs Judith Regensteiner, Ehrin Armstrong, Ana Casanegra, and Rachelle Crescenzi presented on sex differences in peripheral artery disease (PAD) outcomes following intervention, approach to contraception among women with have had a venous thromboembolic (VTE) event, and mechanistic insights into lymphedema and lipidemia in women.

In the afternoon, there were rapid fire sessions featuring 5-minute talks on ‘My pearls on how I approach the patient’ with various conditions, ranging from drug-resistant hypertension to erythromelagia. Five excellent talks were given by the Jay D. Coffman Young Investigator Award finalists. Details regarding the winners are below.

The poster hall featured 30 posters, and there was a lively moderated poster session that gave investigators an opportunity to discuss their science and clinical case studies with senior SVM members who served as poster professors. Thursday evening ended with Cases Over Cocktails, moderated by Drs Beckman and Olin … as expected, this was educational and highly entertaining.

Friday morning started early with the SVM annual business meeting, led by SVM President Dr John R. (Jerry) Bartholomew. Reports were given by SVM officers and committee chairs, followed by the election of new officers and trustees for 2017 (details are below).

Dr Bartholomew led an emotional awards ceremony on Friday morning as Dr Bruce Gray received the Jess R. Young Outstanding Vascular Medicine Educator Award and Drs James Froehlich and Emile Mohler were named Masters of the Society for Vascular Medicine (MSVM). Dr Bartholomew’s Presidential Address was well-received as he reflected on the history of SVM and his past 2 years as President of our Society. In his address, Dr Bartholomew reminded us to ‘use your letters’ (FSVM or MSVM) because they symbolize your expertise as a vascular medicine specialist. The full text of his address is published in this issue of Vascular Medicine. ¹ Additional sessions during the meeting presented the latest research and developments in vascular medicine, including aortic disease, a state-of-the-art approach to anticoagulation, and ‘Great Debates in Vascular Medicine’. Drs Steve Dean and Thom Rooke moderated the perennial favorite, Vascular Jeopardy. Much to my personal delight (and surprise), their questions were developed from content published in Vascular Medicine throughout the years! Congrats to Teresa Carman as this year’s first place Vascular Jeopardy winner and to runners up, Stanislav Henkin and Umberto Campia.

On Friday afternoon, attendees could choose from a variety of how-to workshops ranging from smoking cessation and compression therapy for swollen limbs to social media 101 and how to write a business plan. Several attendees also participated in an early career session that focused on starting or expanding a career as a vascular medicine specialist, with tips from the experts. The day ended with the annual Celebrating Vascular Medicine Reception.

The SVM in the Vascular Laboratory program took place on Saturday. The sessions covered follow-up after vascular interventions, vascular testing for cardiovascular risk assessment (carotid IMT, ankle–brachial index), novel testing applications (including exercise transcutaneous oximetry), pelvic vascular disorders, and a mock RPVI exam. We also had an interactive workshop on knobology, image optimization, and artifacts led by master vascular sonographers Alia Grattan and Jean White-Melendez.

I thank the entire Scientific Sessions Program Committee for its hard work this year in planning an outstanding meeting. Special thanks to the abstracts review committee chairs Anne Hamik and Scott Kinlay, Cases Over Cocktails selection committee chair Natalie Evans, SVM in the Vascular Laboratory chairs Esther Kim, Ritz Shugart, and R. Eugene (Gene) Zierler, our entire Program Committee, and all of our faculty presenters.

Well, that’s a wrap. It’s been a terrific 2 years as your Program Committee chair. I am pleased to hand the job over to my colleague and friend, Raghu Kolluri. Please save the date for the 29th Annual SVM Scientific Sessions to be held at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel, June 13–16, 2018, in Chicago. I know Raghu and his committee are planning yet another terrific meeting.