This 3-day course represents a joint effort of the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at UCLA and the Society for Vascular Surgery. This program will offer an in-depth review of our specialty for those preparing to take the vascular board examinations as well as providing the basic didactic education for the vascular residents and fellows in training. The course recognizes four major pillars of vascular surgery practice, which include (1) conventional open operations, (2) catheter-based intervention (endovascular surgery), (3) the medical aspect of patient management, and (4) diagnostic imaging and noninvasive testing. An internationally recognized faculty will present a comprehensive survey of generally accepted views, including basic science, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of the broad spectrum of vascular disorders. In addition, each speaker has been asked to take a portion of their allotted time in order to review the important new developments, as related to their topic that have taken place within the last year. This year, we will continue to add sections of interactive Q&A following each morning and afternoon session with questions relevant to the topics that have been presented. The questions will be in board format in order to give the participants a preparatory exercise.
The primary objective of this course is to provide the evidence basis for the clinical practice of vascular disease management. At the conclusion of this course, participants should be able to affirm or modify their approach to patient management in the following areas: