American Venous Forum

March 5^th (Thursday) 7:00pm

This year’s Gala is taking on a new look. Drs. Elna Masuda and Joann Lohr invite you to join them for “AVF’s Got Talent” at 7:00 pm on Thursday, March 5, 2020.

DINNER – Your evening begins with a cold beverage followed by regionally inspired food stations.

AWARDS – Following dinner, Dr. Brajesh Lal will present the awards for:

• 2020 VENOUS2020 Best Abstract Presentation
• 2020 VENOUS2020 Best Poster
• 2020 AVF-JOBST Research Grant Awardee
• 2020 Servier Scholarship Recipients

ENTERTAINMENT – Lights will go down and your talented AVF friends & colleagues will take the stage.

• Be amazed by world-renowned master magician Peter Gloviczki
• Enjoy the serenading of songster Bo Ekloff
• Roar with laughter with comedian Ken Slaw
• Memorialize your evening with Jeff Mendola, bringing your favorite cartoon and Sesame Street characters to life

If you have a talent you would like to share, contact Jeff Mendola at Jeffrey@VeinForum.org

TICKETS – “AVF’s got Talent” Ticket includes (price $175 / person):

• Cocktails & non-alcoholic beverages
• Dinner
• Dessert & Coffee
• Entertainment
• Dancing

Three Ways to Purchase Tickets:

• Purchase when registering for VENOUS2020 AVF Annual Meeting
• Contact AVF Office (847-752-5355 / info@avfmail.org)
• AVF CENTRAL at VENOUS2020 in the Exhibit Hall

Any questions, please contact Jeff Mendola at Jeffrey@VeinForum.org.

Nasim Hedayati, MD

The American Venous Forum Fall Fellow, Resident and Early Career course took place on December 6^th and 7^th at University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. The faculty included Drs. Haraldur Bjarnason, John Carson, Steve Elias, Nasim Hedayati, Mark Meissner, and Peter Lawrence. The course had 42 registrants, with fellows, residents and attendees from vascular surgery, general surgery, interventional radiology, cardiology, and vascular medicine. Attendees hailed from all regions of the US; we had two international attendees as well. The course focused on superficial and deep venous disease and treatment in an interactive format, with hands-on sessions with industry partners, and concluded with a well-received game show “Password” to test the group’s knowledge with give-away prizes. The feedback from attendees about course content and organization was excellent.

This is a testament to the continued success of the Resident/Fellow course over the last 15 years thanks to Dr. Steve Elias’ tireless leadership. This year was the first year the course’s name was changed as we targeted early career physicians take advantage of this excellent opportunity. As membership in the AVF was required for the trainees to get reimbursement, we hope that the enthusiasm of the faculty and the benefits of the society will serve as an impetus for continued membership and contribution of these young physicians in the AVF.

Dear AVF Members,

It is with great pleasure that I share with you the exciting development that the American Venous Forum and the NIH-funded Chronic Venous Thrombosis: Relief with Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Therapy (C-TRACT) trial have entered into a path-breaking partnership. In one of the first such ventures ever, the AVF will partner with an NIH-funded trial to contribute its expertise, perspective, and work-effort to advance its success.

The C-TRACT is a large, well-designed study of endovascular therapy for post thrombotic syndrome (PTS). The goal of the study is to understand whether the image-guided procedures reduce the severity of PTS and improve quality of life of our patients. The long-term safety and costs of the endovascular procedures are also being evaluated. Findings from the study will certainly provide new information on optimal ways to care for patients with PTS. There are 23 clinical centers already participating in C-TRACT, but there is room for more.

AVF has a long tradition of uninterrupted leadership in promoting evidence-based decision-making in venous and lymphatic disease. It has led the way in supporting the generation of high-quality data to determine the best ways to diagnose and treat venous disease. AVF already sponsors the largest Society research grant dedicated solely to venous and lymphatic disorders. It has developed the diagnostic tools (CEAP, VCSS) and guidelines (Varicose vein treatment, Venous ulcer treatment, Compression) that inform worldwide care for venous patients. In addition, it has developed and supports the most active Venous Registry through the voluntary support of its membership. Data from its over 20,000 cases are now beginning to impact venous care quality and effectiveness.

Expanding on that tradition, AVF has signed an agreement with C-TRACT led by Suresh Vedantham MD, to leverage its distinctive knowledge and resources to increase awareness of the study, assist the study leadership in identifying investigators and sites to participate in the study, encourage enrollment in the trial, and promote best practices for study conduct. By becoming a member of the Board of C-TRACT, AVF is now a true partner of the trial and has a stake in its success. It will utilize its communication resources (including the VEIN SPECIALIST, e-mail blasts to its membership, its website, and social media channels) to communicate real-time updates and assistance with trial activities. Soon, we will share trial resources and programs developed by the C-TRACT (Mobile Referral App and trial materials). Most importantly, for its members, the AVF will create opportunities for you to share and discuss the relevance, rationale, protocol and need for a trial such as C-TRACT at our multiple meeting venues (VENOUS2020AVF Annual Meeting, Fall and Spring AVF Fellows’ Courses, AVF sessions at multiple other Society meetings, and its scientific journal, the JVS-VL). In the coming weeks and months, we will share more updates on the efforts and opportunities for membership participation. Meanwhile, for those of you who are interested, please mark your calendars for March 1-2, 2020 when AVF and C-TRACT are working to co-host the C-TRACT Annual Investigator Meeting as part of the VENOUS2020Meeting of the American Venous Forum, the week-long celebration of all things Venous. This will be immediately followed by the Annual Scientific Meeting of AVF March 3-6, 2020.

Brajesh K Lal, MD
President, American Venous Forum
Professor, Vascular Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Chief, Vascular Service, Baltimore VA Medical Center
Director, Center for Vascular Research, University of Maryland
PI, NIH Vascular Imaging Core Facility, University of Maryland 
PI, CREST-2 Registry (C2R), Co-PI, CREST-2

Earlier this month, Dr. Elna Masuda was invited to be the keynote speaker at Yale Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.  Dr. Masuda, past President of the American Venous Forum and current President of the AVF Foundation, provided an “enthralling venous keynote talk” on the appropriateness of venous procedures.  She also discussed ongoing initiatives by the American Venous Forum to prevent overuse in support of their mission to provide the highest quality of care to venous and lymphatic patients.

Click here to learn more!

Spring Fellows, Resident, and Early Career Course was a huge success!  The key to the success of the course is having the right mix of faculty. This spring there was a great group: Makis Avgerinos (Pittsburgh), John Carson (Maine), Shelia Coogan (San Antonio), Nick Sikalas (Stony Brook) and Kathleen Ozsvath (Albany) and Steve Elias as the course Director (Englewood).  Thanks to all the faculty!

Did you miss it?  Register for the Fall Course in Sacramento, CA, December 6-7^th now!

Thank you to all our Council and Committee Chairs at the AVF for their leadership, commitment and dedication to the mission of the AVF.

ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL – William Marston, MD
Annual Program Committee – Patrick  Muck, MD
Health Policy Committee – Daniel   Monahan, MD
Membership Committee – Cassius Chaar, MD
Newsletter Committee – Steven  Elias, MD
Distinguished Fellows Committee – Peter Gloviczki, MD
Early Career Venous Committee – Kathleen Ozsvath, MD
EDUCATION COUNCIL – Ruth Bush, MD
EDUCATION COUNCIL – Ellen Dillavou, MD
Ethics Committee – Joann Lohr, MD
Fellows Course Committee – Nasim Hedayati, MD
Finance Committee – Glenn Jacobowitz, MD, FACS, RVT
Patient Education Committee – John Blebea, MD
Website and Social Media Committee – Anil Hingorani, MD
West Coast Vein Forum Committee – Daniel Monahan, MD
West Coast Vein Forum Committee – Ellen Dillavou, MD
International Committee – Jorge Ulloa, MD
RESEARCH COUNCIL – Jose Diaz, MD
RESEARCH COUNCIL – Faisal Aziz, MD
Registry Committee – Jose Almeida, MD
Research Committee – Mikel Sadek, MD
Research Committee – Faisal Aziz, MD
Guidelines Committee – Cynthia Shortel, MD
Guidelines Committee – Faisal Aziz, MD

Have questions or thoughts for the council or committee chairs?