President's Message

Dear Colleagues:

It seems like such a short time ago that we concluded this year’s Annual Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery Meeting in Banff, Alberta. But already one month on, and well into a beautiful leaf-changing autumn here in Montreal, I find myself looking back to an outstanding meeting and all of its great memories. I would first like to take this opportunity to thank the CSVS membership and in particular the CSVS Executive for the opportunity to sit as your Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery President. This is a Service and Leadership role that I can assure you I take very seriously – I only hope that I too can provide the high level of stewardship seen by CSVS Presidents of the past, both far and recent.

This year saw Past-President Dr. Rafik Ghali oversee one of the most successful and memorable CSVS meetings in recent memory. His Presidential Address on ‘Change’ was both thought provoking and future-centric, painting a portrait of the character and identity of the physician-surgeon of the future. The quality of the Academic Program, put together by Program Chair Dr. John Harlock as well as all of the Local Arrangements coordinated by Dr. Marie-France Guimond were both outstanding. Marie-France’s mad-skills even went so far as to ensure a full herd of elk right outside the dining room on the golf course the evening of the CSVS Banquet. A  special thanks goes out to CSVS President-Elect Dr. April Boyd for her work in helping the CSVS get Dr. Alan Dardik to visit as this year’s CSVS guest Speaker. As all who were present can attest, Dr. Dardik provided an incredible amount of stimulating content and commentary that both entertained and inspired surgeons, trainees and guest attendees alike.

As if this wasn’t enough, Banff provided the most spectacular backdrop that one could possibly imagine. The facilities and service of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel were top notch, the hospitality of the city was completely on point and the weather, while at times cool, showcased the natural beauty of Canada and the Rockies that can only really be appreciated with a visit. For those who did not have the opportunity to visit this part of the country during this year’s Canada 150 Celebration, I would strongly encourage all of you to add Banff and the Canadian Rockies to your short list of future travel spots.

In the Fall Newsletter you will find a summary of all of this year’s Award winners – congratulations to all of you for your hard work! I would again take this opportunity to strongly encourage members to submit applications for these awards. We are fortunate as a Society to have the funds necessary to support these important Member, Trainee and Student awards – this is your Society – let us help you with your work!

There will be a number of important dossiers in play this year for some of the CSVS Committees. The Research Committee, under Chair Dr. Luc Dubois, has been active and by all accounts will expand this activity through the Canadian Vascular Surgery Research Group. New incoming Education Chair Dr. George Oreopoulos will no doubt be seeking members to join the Education Committee to aid in upcoming CSVS CME accreditation. The newly created CSVS Quality and Outcomes Committee chaired by Dr. Graham Roche-Nagle will be an important addition to the Executive’s mandate in leadership across the country.  Any CSVS members who are interested in getting involved in the Society though any  of these Committees are strongly encouraged to contact Christiane Dowsing at mailto:info@canadianvascular.ca . Christiane can put you in contact with the appropriate Committee Chair.

One of the other planned initiatives of the Society for the coming mandate will be to revisit the CSVS Abdominal Aneurysm Screening Recommendations via a new CSVS AAA Guideline Review Sub- Committee. A team of four well-qualified individuals to lead this project was identified at this year’s Annual General Meeting. However, any and all other CSVS Members interested in participating in this important file can similarly express their interest to Christiane Dowsing.

As presented to the Members at this year’s AGM, CSVS Treasurer Dr. Keith Baxter demonstrated that The Society is in a strong and stable financial position. Dr. Karim Alibhai in his capacity of Webmaster and now Chair of the Webmaster and Informatics dossier has completely overhauled and modernized the CSVS’s Web presence; out of this we expect further functionality to be added. The Executive is looking at ways in which we can both strengthen our national and global position but also utilize our resources to assist our members and fulfill the CSVS’s Mission. I intend on keeping the membership appraised of the progress and direction of the Society as we develop a framework for strategic planning for the future.

Thank you again for your confidence and I wish all of you best wishes.

Sincerely

Kent MacKenzie