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WFVS--message from the president

Message from the President, Peter Gloviczki, MD

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to the 2nd Annual Meeting of the World Federation of Vascular Societies that will take place in San Diego on June 4th, 2008, during the Vascular Annual Meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery.   Established in Madrid, Spain, in September 2007, the WFVS is a unique international organization that brings together the most prominent vascular societies of the world with a common mission: to provide a forum for international exchange of educational, scientific and political issues related to the evaluation and treatment of vascular diseases. 

The Program of the 2008 San Diego meeting was built on the success of the inaugural meeting organized in Madrid in 2007 by ESVS General Secretary Henrik Sillesen and first President of the Federation, Jan Brunkwall.  This year’s meeting will present The Future of Vascular Surgery in the World – Now!  Representatives from each continent will highlight the very best and latest in vascular and endovascular surgery. The session, moderated by Henrik Sillesen and Enrico Ascher, will feature Australian Perspectives by  Philip J. Walker from Queensland, Progress in Laparoscopic Vascular Surgery by Jean-Baptiste Ricco, from Poitiers, France, Stem Cell Therapy for Buerger’s Disease by Vishnu Motukuru from  Bangalore, India and Pathogenesis and Management of Functional Popliteal Entrapment Syndrome by J. Pillai, from Johannesburg, South Africa.  We will learn what is new in Endovascular Reconstructions of the Thoracoabdominal Aorta from Satoshi Kawaguchi, Tokyo, Japan and from Luis Lanzeotti, Brazil. Roy Greenberg from The Cleveland Clinic will conclude this session with a lecture on Complex Aortic Disease – Changes in Perception, Evaluation, and Management.  
 
A special session will be dedicated to Education in Vascular Surgery: Critical Issues Around the Globe. Moderated by expert international educators Jack Cronenwett from the U.S. and Christos Liapis from Greece. We will hear from program directors from around the world:  from Alan Scott, Melbourne, Australia, Johan Hajo van Bockel, Leiden, Netherlands, N. Sekar, Chennai, India, Sopon Jirasirithum, Bangkok, Thailand, WFVS General Secretary Martin Veller, Johannesburg, South Africa, Ricardo Moreira, Parana, Brazil and Joseph Mills, Chair of the Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery in the U.S., from Tucson, Arizona.

To honor an individual who made major contributions to the art and science of vascular surgery and enjoys exceptional international recognition for academic achievements, the Federation established the Robert B. Rutherford Lecture.  It is a privilege to announce that in 2008 the Robert B. Rutherford Lectureship was awarded to Jonathan Beard from the Sheffield Vascular Institute, United Kingdom. The title of Mr. Beard’s lecture is: "Which is the best revascularisation for critical limb ischemia--endovascular or open surgery?”  Congratulations to Jonathan, fully deserved!

The World Federation of Vascular Societies is a young organization but the future is bright and success has been assured by enthusiastic participation of the founding regional member societies. Members of contributing societies  become  members of the Federation. There is no individual membership and there is no membership fee.  Major objectives include, among others, the expansion of cooperation between national and regional vascular societies to facilitate exchange of ideas, to share common experiences and the promotion and standardization of education in vascular surgery. These and other goals and programs will be presented in detail during the Presidential Address at the Annual Meeting.

The Society for Vascular Surgery is honored to host this prestigious event. The meeting will be opened by SVS President Wayne Johnston and by Greg Sicard, Chair, SVS International Relations Committee. As a sign of recognition, the Journal of Vascular Surgery will publish a special WFVS Supplement that will include manuscripts of all presentations with transcripts of all the discussions.

Attend the meeting and meet with the Councilors of the Federation who represent your societies: Jose Luis Nascimento Silva (Brazilian Society of Angiology and Vascular Surgery), Kumud Rai (Vascular Society of India), Hiroshi Shigematsu (Japanese Society for Vascular Surgery ), Henrik Sillesen (European Society for Vascular Surgery), Martin Veller (Vascular Society of Southern Africa),  Peter Woodruff (Australian and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery), and  Peter Gloviczki (Society for Vascular Surgery ). To learn more, go to to www.wfvs.org.

I am looking forward to meet you all in San Diego.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Gloviczki, MD

Professor and Chair, Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery,
Director, Gonda Vascular Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA,
President, WFVS