The Venous Symposium 2020 will convene its 11^th annual conference March 19-21 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, including a Latin language program. VS 2020 has scheduled 29 educational sessions, as well as an aesthetic vein course before the conference begins.

In addition, VS also welcomes physicians in training to participate in the Fellows and Residents Program under the direction of Drs. Kush Desail and Nicholas Sikalas, which includes complimentary tuition and travel reimbursement. Registration information is available at venous-symposium.com/fellows-scholarship/ and the Fellows/Residents Program is at venous-symposium.com/fellows-program-agenda/ . Eligible are vascular fellows, vascular surgery fellows, phlebology fellows, interventional radiology fellows, interventional cardiology fellows and vascular surgery fellows.

AESTHETIC VEIN COURSE

The Venous Symposium 2020 will offer a major new feature this year: An Aesthetic Vein Course will be conducted on Wednesday, March 18. The Aesthetic Vein Course offers a comprehensive look into imaging and treatment methods of fine and small veins in different areas of the body.

Faculty includes Ronald Bush, MD, FACS; Peggy Bush, APRN; Antonios Gasparis, MD; Alexsandra Jaworucka-Kaczorowska, MD; Rodrigo Kikuchi, MD; Nicos Labropoulos, MD; and Tomasz Urbanek, MD.

The Aesthetic Vein Course, previously a separate course offered biannually, is a unique comprehensive study of methods and modalities to achieve the best cosmetic results when treating leg telangiectasia, varicose veins, face veins, breast veins and hand veins. This kind of course is not offered at any other venue.

Most of patient complaints related to the venous system are of a cosmetic issue. All vein treatments should result in cosmetically superior results.

The evolution of an integrated and focused system for successfully treating many of these cosmetic conditions are based on histological studies by Dr. Bush, using the lab at Water’s Edge Dermatology in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, which is one of the largest dermatopathology labs in the United States.

With the aid of histologic studies, Dr. Bush was able to study sclerosant interaction with venous tissue at different concentrations using varied diluents.

The examination of telangiectasia after subdermal tumescent infusion also provided insights in how this technique can markedly improve results after sclerotherapy. Histology analysis also reveals how to keep post treatment staining to a minimum as well as the etiology and preferred treatment for angiogenesis.

The Aesthetic Vein Course provides not only an opportunity to achieve superior cosmetic results for patients, but also a detailed analysis of the pathophysiology and histology of venous disease.

The Aesthetic Vein Course program is available at venous-symposium.com/program/. The fee to add the Aesthetic Vein Course to the regular conference registration is $200. To register for just the Aesthetic Vein Course is $400.

GENERAL SESSION, MARCH 19

Drs. Labropoulos and Gasparis moderate the first session titled The Vein Consult; Session2, moderated by Drs. Neil Khilnani and Angela Kokkosis, is Superficial Vein Disease. Dr. Urbanek and Marc Passman moderate Session 3, Learning through Clinical Cases – VTE; Session 4, AVLS @ VS – What Would I do Different,” is moderated by Drs. Kathleen Gibson and Nick Morrison; and Session 5 is a lively debate between Dr. William Marston on “Treatment of Vein Tributaries is Paramount” and Dr. Gibson on “Treatment of Vein Tributaries is Secondary.” Dr. Alun Davies will moderate.

Video Presentations on Superficial Therapies, Session 6, will be moderated by Drs. Patrick Muck and Igor Sincoss; Session 7, Diagnostic Imaging: Learn from Clinical Cases, will be moderated by Drs. Steve Black and Carl Fastabend; VS Second Opinion for…Superficial Vein Disease, Deep Vein Disease, Swelling, Something Unusual, is Session 8 – moderated by Drs. Thomas Maldonado and Thom Rooke. It will be followed by a panel discussion.

Dr. Steve Elias will moderate Session 9, VS Question Time; and the final session for the day, Session 10, moderated by Dr. Maldonado, Socioeconomic and Clinical Impact of Edema. It is followed by a panel discussion and an evening networking reception with the exhibitors.

GENERAL SESSION, MARCH 20

Session 11, Deep Vein Thrombosis – Technical Tips and Tricks, will be moderated by Drs. Maldonado and Gerald O’Sullivan; Session 12, Superficial Vein Treatment, will be moderated by Drs. Sincoss and Gloria Salazar; Drs. Fedor Lurie and Harold Welch will moderate Session 13, Learning Through Critical Cases. Following a panel discussion there will be a break so attendees can visit the exhibit hall. Session 14, VS Debate on High Risk Submassive PE, will be moderated by Dr. Akhilesh Sista; and Session 15, Changing Paradigms in PE Management, will be moderated by Drs. Sista and Anthony Comerota.

The keynote address, Session 16, is “Re-Deploying Ambition in the Service of Venous Care,” will be given by Dr. Suresh Vedantham, followed by lunch and exhibits.

AVF at VS – Current Issues in Post-Thrombotic Syndrome, Session 17, will be moderated by Drs. Welch and Gasparis; Session 18, Key Knowledge in Management of Venous Ulcers, will be moderated by Drs. Marston and George Koullias; Drs. O’Sullivan and Vitor Gomati will moderate Session 19, Video Presentations on Deep Thoughts; Session 20, New Methods, Early Results, Clinical Trials, will be moderated by Drs. Davies and Vedantham; and the day’s final Session 21, Fun Time, will be moderated by Dr. Elias and will be followed by VS Question Time to be presented by a six-member panel.

GENERAL SESSION, MARCH 21

The final day will begin with the VS Run/Walk at 5:15 a.m. in New York City’s Central Park for early risers. Session 22, Superficial Vein Disease – Varicose Veins, to be moderated by Drs. Urbanek and Peter Pappas; Dr. Comerota will moderate Session 23, VS Journal and Vein News; Poster Winners at VS, Session 24, will be moderated by Drs Jose Diaz and Joseph Raffetto; Session 25, Venous Stenting, will be moderated by Drs. Black and Fastabend; Session 26, Live Demonstration of Different Types of Compression, will be moderated by Drs. Joseph Caprini, Sergio Gianesini and Dimitrios Kontothanassis, which will be followed by lunch and exhibits.

Session 27, SIR at VS – Complex Deep Venous Obstruction: Charting the Path Forward, will be moderated by Drs. Vedantham and Kush Desai; Practice Pearls, Session 28, will be moderated by Drs. Elias and Paul Gagne; and the final Session 29, Pelvic Vein Disorders, will be moderated by Drs. Gasparis and Khilnani, followed by a panel discussion and adjournment about 5 p.m.

LIVE IMAGING

Also, at VS 2020, there will be live imaging and discussion. Using ultrasound on patients with varied presentations of small vessel disease, the exact pathways of cutaneous venous hypertension responsible for pathology will be demonstrated.

ART GALLERY CONTEST

VS invites all VS 2020 attendees and exhibitors to showcase their artistic skills in painting or sculpture. Submit your venous-related artwork for a chance to win $500. The artwork will be displayed at the VS reception. Attendees will have a chance to vote for their favorite piece. The contest winner will be announced at the end of the reception. Digital image of the artwork must be submitted to mlescanofeher@ccmcme.com for approval by Feb. 14.

WINE LABEL CONTEST

The Venous Symposium wine bottles have become a popular staple of the VS reception. Attendees and exhibitors now have a chance to design the label. The VS course directors will choose the winning label, and it will be placed on all the bottles distributed at the VS reception. Digital image of the artwork must be submitted to mlescanofeher@ccmcme.com for approval by Feb. 14.

Registration for VS 2020 is at venous-symposium.com/registration/ . VTN