American Venous Forum

It is my deep honor to serve you as the 33rd President of the American Venous Forum. I have been attending the AVF Annual Meeting since 1991, and truly believe the AVF is the exemplary vascular society in the world. Our mission is to promote venous and lymphatic health, and our past leaders have shown us the path to accomplish this. I am particularly grateful for our immediate Past President, Dr. Brajesh Lal, MD, whose insight and wisdom has moved us to even greater accomplishments, and to Elna Masuda, MD, Past President, and current American Venous Forum Foundation President who has re-invigorated the AVF with her thoughtful guidance, both of whom I will work closely with.

The American Venous Forum is as successful as its members can make it. The many volunteer committee members and Chairs are the driving force behind the AVF, and I thank all of them for contributing their time, ideas, and energies to the benefit of the AVF. I invite all members to get involved and further the goals of the AVF to improve venous and lymphatic health for all patients and to educate providers and the public to make life better for patients throughout the world.

In April, 2019, the AVF had a strategic planning retreat where we identified key objectives to move the AVF forward. I am pleased to say we have already made great progress with our Strategic Plan, but there remains more to be done. Implementing the plan that your AVF leadership has developed will be one of the primary goals of the coming year.

I would like to add we have an excellent Administrative staff that is willing and able to assist you with any matters you may have with the AVF.

Finally, I invite you to reach out to me directly if you have questions or concerns, utilizing the “Ask the President” link at the top of our Home Page. I will be happy to discuss with you any Forum issues. And, I hope to see you at VENOUS2021 in San Antonio, Texas, next February 24-27.

Sincerely,

Harold J. Welch, MD

CEAP classification system and reporting standard, revision 2020

The 2020 appropriate use criteria for chronic lower extremity venous disease of the American Venous Forum, the Society for Vascular Surgery, the American Vein and Lymphatic Society, and the Society of Interventional Radiology

Presented at the Thirty-first Annual Meeting of the American Venous Forum, Rancho Mirage, Calif, February 19-22, 2019.

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

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