SVS officer corps on the record: priorities, opportunities and a few revealing facts

We’ll continue to benefit by building strong relationships with societies on each continent, and also by entering into healthy relationships with other U.S. societies. That might mean strengthening our relationships with other national surgical societies, such as the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery; regional societies; or a group like the American Venous Forum, which has multiple specialties within it; or even non-surgeon groups, such as the Society for Interventional Radiology, or the Society for Vascular Medicine.

Combined or co-located meetings, for example, or the possibility of inviting vascular ultrasound specialists or venous specialists to attend and present talks or sessions at our meetings are opportunities to consider.

VS: How does your agenda take SVS forward?

Dr. Lawrence: Improving the annual meeting and building relationships with other societies will both lead to greater interaction and exchange of ideas and experience among vascular surgeons and with others who participate in diagnosing and treating vascular disease. Ultimately, the point of intersection is education, which is the basis for better patient care.

VS: How does the work of SVS contribute to patient care today?

Dr. Lawrence: A number of different committees and groups work on multiple programs that impact patient care. The training SVS provides at meetings for budding medical students, residents, and fellows is one example. Our members teach surgical techniques through simulation to help make the next generation of vascular surgeons the best endo and open surgeons they can become.

We also work with the vascular research community to see that the very best papers are presented at our meetings. Those presentations and other information that our members take home are studied and applied, both in research labs and in clinical settings, to improve patient care.

One example is the SVS Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI), our multi-institutional database that provides data to our physician safety organization, and which has led to outstanding papers which are presented at the VAM. These presentations contribute new information that changes treatment protocols and many times changes how care is delivered.

In addition, SVS has a rich library of patient resources, including articles and patient stories, postings about device alerts, and videos. These resources are available online to help patients gain a better understanding of various vascular conditions and treatments so that patients can be better prepared to consult with their physicians and make more informed decisions.

The Journal for Vascular Surgery is another important contributor to patient care. The journal focuses on peer-reviewed articles of clinical results, but also has important review articles and practice guidelines which have been developed through our document oversight committee. The findings published in JVS have led to great strides in patient care. Since the first issue was published in 1984, the impact on patient care over the last 30 years is quite substantial.

VS: What might members be surprised to know about you?

Dr. Lawrence: I have an interest in restoring old houses, building and working on boats, and enjoying them once completed. I competed in sailboat races during my youth and even up to my residency. I started by sailing a "Moth," which I built, and in the world junior championships, I came in second of 150 boats. I was actually in first place in 1978 in a borrowed boat in the first U.S. Laser championship—until the boat was hit by a competitor in the side; I limped home and have not done competitive racing since then. I love the beach, the ocean, boogie boarding, sailing, all things relating to boating, and also restoring old houses, all of which my parents also enjoyed.

My immediate family is "geographically challenged." For the last seven years, my wife has been serving as president of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, while I’m at UCLA. Our older son has been living and working for Ralph Lauren in Hong Kong; last week he moved to Taiwan to manage that country’s business. Our younger son, a new Princeton PhD in comparative literature, is looking for an academic job and could land anywhere. We’ve made the distances work and each of us benefits from having interesting and challenging experiences, doing what we like most.

VS: Anything else you want to share with SVS members?