Society News

Applications are due March 2, 2018, for the Wylie Scholar Award, co-sponsored by Vascular Cures and the SVS Foundation. The three-year, $150,000 grant is awarded to a promising vascular surgeon-scientist in North America and is designed to support outstanding surgeon-scientists conducting innovative academic research in the early stages of their careers.

This year's recipient, Dr. Sean English, is conducting research on AAA. Dr. Mohamed Zayed, MD, PhD, the 2015 recipient, is investigating why diabetics develop a unique lipid profile leading to PAD. For each $150,000 award, Wylie Scholars have received $3.3 million in subsequent national research funding, for a return on investment of nearly 22 to 1. 

Applications are due March 2, 2018, for the Wylie Scholar Award, co-sponsored by Vascular Cures and the SVS Foundation. The three-year, $150,000 grant is awarded to a promising vascular surgeon-scientist in North America and is designed to support outstanding surgeon-scientists conducting innovative academic research in the early stages of their careers.

This year's recipient, Dr. Sean English, is conducting research on AAA. Dr. Mohamed Zayed, MD, PhD, the 2015 recipient, is investigating why diabetics develop a unique lipid profile leading to PAD. For each $150,000 award, Wylie Scholars have received $3.3 million in subsequent national research funding, for a return on investment of nearly 22 to 1. 

Applications are due March 2, 2018, for the Wylie Scholar Award, co-sponsored by Vascular Cures and the SVS Foundation. The three-year, $150,000 grant is awarded to a promising vascular surgeon-scientist in North America and is designed to support outstanding surgeon-scientists conducting innovative academic research in the early stages of their careers.

This year's recipient, Dr. Sean English, is conducting research on AAA. Dr. Mohamed Zayed, MD, PhD, the 2015 recipient, is investigating why diabetics develop a unique lipid profile leading to PAD. For each $150,000 award, Wylie Scholars have received $3.3 million in subsequent national research funding, for a return on investment of nearly 22 to 1. 

Leaders of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) hosted a Stop the Bleed^® training program on Capitol Hill October 12 for members of Congress and their staffs. The congressional event focused on how early intervention from a Stop the Bleed-trained individual can save the life of someone suffering from a bleeding injury. Participants came to learn more about the ACS’ efforts with Stop the Bleed and engage in the hands-on training in how to control bleeding. The training was led by ACS Fellows, including Lenworth M. Jacobs, Jr., MD, MPH, FACS; Leonard J. Weireter, Jr., MD, FACS; Mark L. Gestring, MD, FACS; John H. Armstrong, MD, FACS; Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPH, MPA, FACS; and Jack Sava, MD, FACS. Congressional guests included Reps. Ami Bera, MD (D-CA); Phil Roe, MD (R-TN); Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA); and Brad Wenstrup, DPM (R-OH), who provided opening remarks.

Leaders of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) hosted a Stop the Bleed^® training program on Capitol Hill October 12 for members of Congress and their staffs. The congressional event focused on how early intervention from a Stop the Bleed-trained individual can save the life of someone suffering from a bleeding injury. Participants came to learn more about the ACS’ efforts with Stop the Bleed and engage in the hands-on training in how to control bleeding. The training was led by ACS Fellows, including Lenworth M. Jacobs, Jr., MD, MPH, FACS; Leonard J. Weireter, Jr., MD, FACS; Mark L. Gestring, MD, FACS; John H. Armstrong, MD, FACS; Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPH, MPA, FACS; and Jack Sava, MD, FACS. Congressional guests included Reps. Ami Bera, MD (D-CA); Phil Roe, MD (R-TN); Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA); and Brad Wenstrup, DPM (R-OH), who provided opening remarks.

Leaders of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) hosted a Stop the Bleed^® training program on Capitol Hill October 12 for members of Congress and their staffs. The congressional event focused on how early intervention from a Stop the Bleed-trained individual can save the life of someone suffering from a bleeding injury. Participants came to learn more about the ACS’ efforts with Stop the Bleed and engage in the hands-on training in how to control bleeding. The training was led by ACS Fellows, including Lenworth M. Jacobs, Jr., MD, MPH, FACS; Leonard J. Weireter, Jr., MD, FACS; Mark L. Gestring, MD, FACS; John H. Armstrong, MD, FACS; Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPH, MPA, FACS; and Jack Sava, MD, FACS. Congressional guests included Reps. Ami Bera, MD (D-CA); Phil Roe, MD (R-TN); Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA); and Brad Wenstrup, DPM (R-OH), who provided opening remarks.

The November issue of the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons is now available online at bulletin.facs.org. This month’s Bulletin includes the following features, columns, and new stories, among others:

Features

The November issue of the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons is now available online at bulletin.facs.org. This month’s Bulletin includes the following features, columns, and new stories, among others:

Features

The November issue of the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons is now available online at bulletin.facs.org. This month’s Bulletin includes the following features, columns, and new stories, among others:

Features

During AGA’s annual Joint Committee weekend, 55 AGA members collectively attended 79 meetings with staff from the offices of their House representatives and senators, lobbying for the top concerns of gastroenterologists across the country, including:

• Continued coverage of patients through either the Affordable Care Act or another bill that has the patient’s best interests in mind. More specifically, one that provides coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and for children under their parents’ plan until 26 years of age, among many other important provisions.
• Changes in health care language that label a colonoscopy for cancer screening as “therapeutic,” which renders a large copay for patients.
• Increased funding for the NIH.

Participants shared experiences from their time on Capitol Hill in the AGA Community forum, and encouraged others to get involved. Here are some of their reasons why.

• Your voice matters: You are constituents – which translates to votes in the minds of representatives and senators – and providing face-to-face conversation with their staffers shows them that you care about your patients and their needs, explains Siddharth Singh, MD.
• Being consistent gets your foot in the door: Some staffers recognized and remembered previous Advocacy Day participants, like Peter Liang, MD, MPH. Personally connecting could lead to follow-up communication and advocacy efforts, says Sarah Streett, MD, AGAF.
• You’re indirectly (and sometimes directly) connecting with decision makers: Staff members from these offices work closely with the legislators who evaluate which policies to support or oppose. “So it’s important to come to Washington, build relationships, and make the case for our science, our specialty, and our patients,” says Kim Barrett, PhD, AGAF.
• Others could be advocating against you on the same issues: “I very strongly believe that it is important to keep letting our legislators know how we feel and what we believe in,” shares Deborah Proctor, MD, AGAF.
• It’s a rewarding experience: “Voice [your] concerns to your representatives who embrace the stories of how their decisions and policies affect your patients, practice, research, and institution,” explains Susan Ramdhaney, MD, AGAF.
• It’s a critical time to take action: With the current health care environment, gastroenterologists need to express the needs of their patients and profession, Dr. Streett explains.

View the full discussion and read updates from colleagues who visited with legislative staffers from California, New York, North Carolina, and Oregon in the forum, community.gastro.org.

Please contact [email protected].
 

[email protected]

During AGA’s annual Joint Committee weekend, 55 AGA members collectively attended 79 meetings with staff from the offices of their House representatives and senators, lobbying for the top concerns of gastroenterologists across the country, including:

• Continued coverage of patients through either the Affordable Care Act or another bill that has the patient’s best interests in mind. More specifically, one that provides coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and for children under their parents’ plan until 26 years of age, among many other important provisions.
• Changes in health care language that label a colonoscopy for cancer screening as “therapeutic,” which renders a large copay for patients.
• Increased funding for the NIH.

Participants shared experiences from their time on Capitol Hill in the AGA Community forum, and encouraged others to get involved. Here are some of their reasons why.

• Your voice matters: You are constituents – which translates to votes in the minds of representatives and senators – and providing face-to-face conversation with their staffers shows them that you care about your patients and their needs, explains Siddharth Singh, MD.
• Being consistent gets your foot in the door: Some staffers recognized and remembered previous Advocacy Day participants, like Peter Liang, MD, MPH. Personally connecting could lead to follow-up communication and advocacy efforts, says Sarah Streett, MD, AGAF.
• You’re indirectly (and sometimes directly) connecting with decision makers: Staff members from these offices work closely with the legislators who evaluate which policies to support or oppose. “So it’s important to come to Washington, build relationships, and make the case for our science, our specialty, and our patients,” says Kim Barrett, PhD, AGAF.
• Others could be advocating against you on the same issues: “I very strongly believe that it is important to keep letting our legislators know how we feel and what we believe in,” shares Deborah Proctor, MD, AGAF.
• It’s a rewarding experience: “Voice [your] concerns to your representatives who embrace the stories of how their decisions and policies affect your patients, practice, research, and institution,” explains Susan Ramdhaney, MD, AGAF.
• It’s a critical time to take action: With the current health care environment, gastroenterologists need to express the needs of their patients and profession, Dr. Streett explains.

View the full discussion and read updates from colleagues who visited with legislative staffers from California, New York, North Carolina, and Oregon in the forum, community.gastro.org.

Please contact [email protected].
 

[email protected]

During AGA’s annual Joint Committee weekend, 55 AGA members collectively attended 79 meetings with staff from the offices of their House representatives and senators, lobbying for the top concerns of gastroenterologists across the country, including:

• Continued coverage of patients through either the Affordable Care Act or another bill that has the patient’s best interests in mind. More specifically, one that provides coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and for children under their parents’ plan until 26 years of age, among many other important provisions.
• Changes in health care language that label a colonoscopy for cancer screening as “therapeutic,” which renders a large copay for patients.
• Increased funding for the NIH.

Participants shared experiences from their time on Capitol Hill in the AGA Community forum, and encouraged others to get involved. Here are some of their reasons why.

• Your voice matters: You are constituents – which translates to votes in the minds of representatives and senators – and providing face-to-face conversation with their staffers shows them that you care about your patients and their needs, explains Siddharth Singh, MD.
• Being consistent gets your foot in the door: Some staffers recognized and remembered previous Advocacy Day participants, like Peter Liang, MD, MPH. Personally connecting could lead to follow-up communication and advocacy efforts, says Sarah Streett, MD, AGAF.
• You’re indirectly (and sometimes directly) connecting with decision makers: Staff members from these offices work closely with the legislators who evaluate which policies to support or oppose. “So it’s important to come to Washington, build relationships, and make the case for our science, our specialty, and our patients,” says Kim Barrett, PhD, AGAF.
• Others could be advocating against you on the same issues: “I very strongly believe that it is important to keep letting our legislators know how we feel and what we believe in,” shares Deborah Proctor, MD, AGAF.
• It’s a rewarding experience: “Voice [your] concerns to your representatives who embrace the stories of how their decisions and policies affect your patients, practice, research, and institution,” explains Susan Ramdhaney, MD, AGAF.
• It’s a critical time to take action: With the current health care environment, gastroenterologists need to express the needs of their patients and profession, Dr. Streett explains.

View the full discussion and read updates from colleagues who visited with legislative staffers from California, New York, North Carolina, and Oregon in the forum, community.gastro.org.

Please contact [email protected].
 

[email protected]

The U.S. is facing an opioid epidemic – 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. While all health care professionals should remain up to date on the risks associated with opioids, it is as important for GIs to understand how opioids can affect diverse parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Patients can experience GI symptoms and side effects related to the intake of opioids, including opioid-induced constipation (OIC), esophageal dysmotility, and delayed gastric emptying, according to a new AGA Clinical Practice Update published in the September 2017 issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Because of the common use of opioid medications to treat chronic pain, the authors recommend that physicians should first consider whether any gastrointestinal symptoms are directly related to the intake of opioids. In acute administration of opioids, symptomatic remedies should be used to counter the pharmacologic effects. For OIC, the bowel function index – a clinician assessment tool to appraise severity and responsiveness to current treatment – should be used to identify chronic OIC that is not responding to first-line therapies.

The clinical practice update also outlines:

• Pharmacologic effects of opiates in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Therapeutic uses of opioid receptor agonists and antagonists in gastroenterology.
• Prevention and treatment of OIC.

[email protected]

The U.S. is facing an opioid epidemic – 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. While all health care professionals should remain up to date on the risks associated with opioids, it is as important for GIs to understand how opioids can affect diverse parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Patients can experience GI symptoms and side effects related to the intake of opioids, including opioid-induced constipation (OIC), esophageal dysmotility, and delayed gastric emptying, according to a new AGA Clinical Practice Update published in the September 2017 issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Because of the common use of opioid medications to treat chronic pain, the authors recommend that physicians should first consider whether any gastrointestinal symptoms are directly related to the intake of opioids. In acute administration of opioids, symptomatic remedies should be used to counter the pharmacologic effects. For OIC, the bowel function index – a clinician assessment tool to appraise severity and responsiveness to current treatment – should be used to identify chronic OIC that is not responding to first-line therapies.

The clinical practice update also outlines:

• Pharmacologic effects of opiates in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Therapeutic uses of opioid receptor agonists and antagonists in gastroenterology.
• Prevention and treatment of OIC.

[email protected]

The U.S. is facing an opioid epidemic – 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. While all health care professionals should remain up to date on the risks associated with opioids, it is as important for GIs to understand how opioids can affect diverse parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Patients can experience GI symptoms and side effects related to the intake of opioids, including opioid-induced constipation (OIC), esophageal dysmotility, and delayed gastric emptying, according to a new AGA Clinical Practice Update published in the September 2017 issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Because of the common use of opioid medications to treat chronic pain, the authors recommend that physicians should first consider whether any gastrointestinal symptoms are directly related to the intake of opioids. In acute administration of opioids, symptomatic remedies should be used to counter the pharmacologic effects. For OIC, the bowel function index – a clinician assessment tool to appraise severity and responsiveness to current treatment – should be used to identify chronic OIC that is not responding to first-line therapies.

The clinical practice update also outlines:

• Pharmacologic effects of opiates in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Therapeutic uses of opioid receptor agonists and antagonists in gastroenterology.
• Prevention and treatment of OIC.

[email protected]

Don't forget that the end of the year is the time to keep up to date with your SVS membership dues. Invoices were emailed to all members earlier this month and are due by Dec. 31.

It's simple to pay your 2018 dues online -- and there's no need to write out a check or find a stamp! Just log on to vascular.org/payinvoice. (While you're at it, please make sure your record is up to date.) You also can make a donation to the SVS Foundation at the same time. For membership help, e-mail the SVS membership department, or call 312-334-2313

Don't forget that the end of the year is the time to keep up to date with your SVS membership dues. Invoices were emailed to all members earlier this month and are due by Dec. 31.

It's simple to pay your 2018 dues online -- and there's no need to write out a check or find a stamp! Just log on to vascular.org/payinvoice. (While you're at it, please make sure your record is up to date.) You also can make a donation to the SVS Foundation at the same time. For membership help, e-mail the SVS membership department, or call 312-334-2313

Don't forget that the end of the year is the time to keep up to date with your SVS membership dues. Invoices were emailed to all members earlier this month and are due by Dec. 31.

It's simple to pay your 2018 dues online -- and there's no need to write out a check or find a stamp! Just log on to vascular.org/payinvoice. (While you're at it, please make sure your record is up to date.) You also can make a donation to the SVS Foundation at the same time. For membership help, e-mail the SVS membership department, or call 312-334-2313

At its recent meeting, the SVS Board of Directors approved establishing a Disaster Relief Fund in response to disasters in Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and Mexico. This Fund will support vascular surgeons and their patients who have been impacted by these extraordinary events and ensure that their commitment to vascular health is recognized in times of need.  

The Foundation leadership is working to initiate a fundraising campaign and grant application guidelines.

Members are asked to email the SVS Foundation to provide your input on the type of support that would be most helpful to vascular surgeons and their patients in these disaster areas.

At its recent meeting, the SVS Board of Directors approved establishing a Disaster Relief Fund in response to disasters in Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and Mexico. This Fund will support vascular surgeons and their patients who have been impacted by these extraordinary events and ensure that their commitment to vascular health is recognized in times of need.  

The Foundation leadership is working to initiate a fundraising campaign and grant application guidelines.

Members are asked to email the SVS Foundation to provide your input on the type of support that would be most helpful to vascular surgeons and their patients in these disaster areas.

At its recent meeting, the SVS Board of Directors approved establishing a Disaster Relief Fund in response to disasters in Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and Mexico. This Fund will support vascular surgeons and their patients who have been impacted by these extraordinary events and ensure that their commitment to vascular health is recognized in times of need.  

The Foundation leadership is working to initiate a fundraising campaign and grant application guidelines.

Members are asked to email the SVS Foundation to provide your input on the type of support that would be most helpful to vascular surgeons and their patients in these disaster areas.