The position of the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery

The Vascular Surgery Board (VSB) of the American Board of Surgery (ABS) has been invited respond to Dr Deol’s editorial on the state of venous and lymphatic care across the country. We recognize that there have been significant concerns raised regarding the quality and appropriateness of venous and lymphatic care (as there have been in some quarters recently with respect to the treatment of arterial disease as well), but we do not believe that the creation of a separate training paradigm and new board will solve these problems. The treatment of venous and lymphatic disease is a core component of the certification process for vascular surgeons and there are defined curriculum and case requirements under the auspices of the Residency Review Committee (RRC) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Accordingly, board-certified vascular surgeons do not need additional training or certification to provide for the spectrum of venous and lymphatic diseases. We have previously submitted a position statement to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) stating our opposition. We would urge the Venous and Lymphatic Medicine workgroup (VLM workgroup) to pursue other approaches. Improving venous and lymphatic care by nonvascular surgeons is a laudable goal, but we remain unconvinced that the rapid proliferation of venous procedures with inappropriate indications will be controlled by mandating this certification process. “The United State of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine”—uniting the specialties to form a more perfect unionJournal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic DisordersVol. 11Issue 3PreviewIn 2020, Dr B.K. Lal gave his presidential address, memorializing his term at the American Venous Forum (AVF).1 In that address, Dr Lal eloquently summarized the challenges facing venous and lymphatic medicine (VLM), including the broad variation in practice patterns, the lack of formal graduate medical education among many VLM practitioners, and insurance carriers, such as Total Health Care (THC) in Michigan, making ad hoc determinations on who is qualified to treat VLM patients. It was the last comment that struck me, because I was the doctor in Michigan to which Dr Lal was referring with regard to THC. Full-Text PDF