Hemodialysis (HD) access failure is a frequent problem encountered by vascular surgeons. As treatment of end-stage renal disease improves and patients live longer on HD, eventual exhaustion of traditional upper extremity HD access is common. Efforts to preserve and maintain these accesses are essential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Racial and ethnic disparities have been well-described among surgical specialties; however, variations in underrepresented in medicine (URiM) representation between these specialties have not previously been quantified.
Methods: Data collected from Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) annual reports were used to derive the Diversity of Surgical Trainee Index (DoSTI), which was calculated as the proportion of URiM residents and fellow physicians within a given surgical specialty, relative to the overall proportion of URiM trainees within all surgical and non-surgical ACGME-accredited programs in the same academic year.
Results: From 2013 to 2022, a total of 108,193 ACGME-accredited residency programs trained 1,296,204 residents and fellows in the United States.
Background: Comprehensive vascular care includes both arterial and venous disease management. However, operative training in venous disease is often significantly overshadowed by arterial procedures, despite the public health burden of acute and chronic venous disease. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the case-mix and volume of venous procedures performed by graduating integrated vascular surgery residents and fellows in the United States.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiovascular disease is a primary cause of mortality worldwide, and patients often require bypass surgery that utilizes autologous vessels as conduits. However, the limited availability of suitable vessels and the risk of failure and complications have driven the need for alternative solutions. Tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) offer a promising solution to these challenges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Impostor syndrome (IS) is prevalent in medical professionals. However, little is known about the prevalence of IS among medical trainees and those who are underrepresented in medicine (UiM). Even less is known about the experiences of UiM students at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) and historically black colleges/universities (HBCUs) relative to their non-UiM peers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of social media (SoMe) in medicine has demonstrated the ability to advance networking among clinicians and other healthcare staff, disseminate research, increase access to up-to-date information, and inform and engage medical trainees and the public at-large. With increasing SoMe use by vascular surgeons and other vascular specialists, it is important to uphold core tenets of our commitment to our patients by protecting their privacy, encouraging appropriate consent and use of any patient-related imagery, and disclosing relevant conflicts of interest. Additionally, we recognize the potential for negative interactions online regarding differing opinions on optimal treatment options for patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany of the systemic practices in medicine that have alienated lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) individuals persist today, undermining the optimal care for these patients and isolating LGBTQ medical providers from their colleagues. The 2020 Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report recently published by the Society for Vascular Surgery marked the first publication advocating for the inclusion of sexual orientation and sexual identity in the development of initiatives promoting and protecting diversity across vascular surgery. Vascular providers should be aware that it is crucial to cultivate an environment that is inclusive for LGBTQ patients because a large proportion of these patients have reported not self-disclosing their status to medical providers, either out of concern over potential personal repercussions or failing to recognize the potential relevance of LGBTQ status to their medical care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA critical need exists to address structural racism within academic and community medicine and surgery and determine methods that will serve to repair its long-standing effects and alleviate the associated negative consequences. Because of our broad skillset and the populations we serve, vascular surgeons are uniquely positioned to identify and address the effects of structural racism in our places of work and for the populations we treat. Our goal is to discuss the effects of racism on healthcare outcomes and provide recommendations on how to combat these through equitable practices such as the diversification of the vascular surgery workforce, inclusivity as partners and leaders, and the promotion of improved outcomes among our most vulnerable patients from racial and ethnic minority groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) are promising alternatives to small-diameter prosthetic grafts. Previous methods of seeding tubular scaffolds with autologous vascular cells have been successful; however, these methods require significant preparation time. Endothelial cell (EC) growth on the luminal surface of vascular scaffolds may be critical for the integration of a TEVG to the host environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has made numerous advances in recent years in the arena of fabricating multifunctional, three-dimensional (3D) tissue constructs. This can be attributed to novel approaches in the bioprinting of stem cells. There are expansive options in bioprinting technology that have become more refined and specialized over the years, and stem cells address many limitations in cell source, expansion, and development of bioengineered tissue constructs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHispanics in the United States experience significant health disparities. Using focus groups conducted in Spanish, we explored the perspectives of 172 Hispanic adults regarding their healthcare experiences. Many participants were women (64.
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