Vein Specialist AVF Newsletter- July 2023 Page 2

July/August Issue of vein specialist

Mistakes Made, Lessons Learned

Page 2 / 2

Page 1

Message from the Editor
Steve Elias, MD

Mistakes Made, Lessons Learned

When Not to Stent
Cees Wittens, MD

Ignoring the Obvious
Jose I. Almeida, MD, FACS

The Fishmonger’s Ice and the First CEA in Borås, Sweden
Bo Eklof, MD, PhD

Research Corner

V. Q & A: SVS/AVF/AVLS Guidelines on Varicose Veins Part I
Andrea Obi, MD, Peter Gloviczki, MD, PhD and Peter Lawrence, MD

Page 2

Membership

Introducing the AVF Task Force on Inequities in Venous Care
Glenn Jacobowitz, MD, Misaki Kiguchi, MD and Ruth Bush, MD, JD, MPH

Join us at VENOUS2024
Arjun Jayaraj, MD

AVF Member named 2023 JVSVL Reviewer of the Year
Allie Woodward

Welcome New Members
May/June

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Steve Elias, MD

EXECUTIVE EDITOR
John Forbes, MBA

MANAGING EDITOR
Allie Woodward

PUBLICATION DESIGNER
Gabi Graf

Introducing the AVF Task Force on Inequities in Venous Care

Glenn Jacobowitz, MD

President, American Venous Forum

Misaki Kiguchi, MD

Director, AVF Board of Directors
Chair, AVF Task Force on Inequities in Venous Care

Ruth Bush, MD, JD, MPH

President-Elect, American Venous Forum

The AVF recently created a new task force to examine inequities in the access to and delivery of venous care in the United States and globally. The initiative grew out of the VENOUS2023 David Sumner session, organized by then-President-Elect Glenn Jacobowitz, in which Drs. Misaki Kiguchi, Sheila Blumberg, Kathleen Ozsvath, and David Dexter examined various aspects of current inequities in venous care. Their talks encompassed many issues including racial disparities in the diagnosis of symptomatic iliac vein compression, delayed diagnosis of severe chronic venous insufficiency in patients with black or brown skin tones, geographic and socioeconomic factors affecting access to venous care, and disparities in treatment of acute iliofemoral DVT with thrombolytic intervention.

The session elicited both concerning and provocative findings, evoking extensive discussion from the AVF membership – both at the conference and subsequently. Thus, a task force was commissioned to evaluate and recommend possible areas of research, outreach, and educational programming to identify and address many of these equities in treating venous disease.

The first meeting of the task force was held on May 24, 2023. Under the direction of Chair Misaki Kiguchi, an outline was developed that includes efforts to increase outreach to providers, expand public awareness and education, and identify specific areas of need. Initiatives to incorporate community outreach during our annual meeting were also discussed.

The findings and recommendations of the task force will be presented at VENOUS2024. Also, consideration is being given to establishing a research grant to further examine and address significant disparities in venous care.

Task Force Members

Misaki Kiguchi, MD

Glenn Jacobowitz, MD

Ruth Bush, MD, JD, MPH

Rob McClafferty, MD

Faisal Aziz, MD

Sheila Blumberg, MD

David Dexter, MD

William Marston, MD

Join us at VENOUS2024 March 3-6 in Tampa, Florida

Arjun Jayaraj, MD

AVF Program Chair for VENOUS2024

As you read this, VENOUS2024, the annual meeting of the American Venous Forum, will be about 7 months away. This year the program committee and the dedicated AVF team would like to continue to build on the successes of VENOUS2022 and VENOUS2023. Our theme for this year is…

The Science of Veins, a World without Boundaries

The focus of the meeting is to emphasize our status as the pre-eminent scientific society/meeting for venous and lymphatic disorders while at the same time have worldwide inclusivity. We have a three-pronged approach to accomplish this:

Deliver a strong scientific program

We would like to further strengthen the scientific component of the program. Toward this effort, we have opened the abstract submission window one month earlier to give authors more time to prepare. Additionally, we are actively pursuing greater outreach both within and outside of the United States to increase awareness of VENOUS2024 and its representation of a great avenue to present original research.

Increase the reach of the annual meeting

Having a virtual component has the potential to increase the reach of a meeting. We plan to continue with this in VENOUS2024, enabling both presenters and attendees to participate from afar. The poster presentation session will also have a hybrid format with presenters having the option of presenting their posters in-person versus recording a 3-minute video. We hope that the hybrid offering combined with the increased outreach efforts through multiple platforms will bring new participants to the meeting while at the same time making a strong case to attend VENOUS2024 in Tampa, Florida, USA.

Provide a great experience to attendees

We have carefully sifted through the feedback that all of you had given us following VENOUS2023 and have made changes to provide a more informative and enjoyable experience to attendees. Among those changes are plans to increase the time allotted to discussion so audiences can get a better understanding of the subjects covered in the presentations. Also new are a session dedicated to venous health care inequities and a dedicated program tailored for advanced practice providers, including a foundational course on sclerotherapy. Continuing from prior years are the welcome reception and the Gala, both of which offer great opportunities for networking.

The American Venous Forum has come a long way since its founding 36 years ago. Every year we try our best to improve on what was offered in prior years. Continuing this tradition, we are working hard to ensure that every attendee—whether virtual or in person– can secure from VENOUS2024 what they had expected from the meeting. See you all in Tampa!

Registration is now open!

Photos from VENOUS2023

(click image to open PDF)

AVF Member named 2023 JVSVL Reviewer of the Year

Allie Woodward

AVF Staff

Congratulations to Dr. Alvaro Orrego on being named the 2023 JVSVL Reviewer of the Year!

As part of this recognition, Dr Orrego will now be a member of the JVSVL Editorial Board.

Dr Alvaro Orrego currently serves as a member on the Continuing Education Committee, the International Committee, and the 2024 Program Committee. He was recently named Chair-elect of the International Committee, as well. Dr Orrego is a leader in South America, serving as an active member of the Chilean Vascular Society and the Chair of Scientific Committee at the Pan-American Society of Phlebology and Lymphology. He also works as the Medical Director at Laser & Veins in Chile.

The AVF congratulates Dr Orrego for this achievement and thanks him for his continued leadership at the AVF.