Mark Farber, MD FACS SAVS President

Many of us are recovering from a colder-than-normal winter and hope that next year will not involve travel delays getting to or from the meeting. Over the past 30 years, I have missed only one meeting because of institutionally mandated COVID-19 travel restrictions. For most of us, it is the most anticipated meeting of the year, and our 50th anniversary meeting was a huge success. Our membership includes 361 active members with another 50 individuals awaiting activation after attending their first meeting. Membership recruitment activities continue to help the society grow, and the society welcomes all vascular surgeons in the region to submit a membership application. Once again, Dr. Jim Black, with educational support from WL Gore, conducted a mock oral exam to evaluate our trainees’ performance, testing their knowledge and providing feedback to improve their responses and education. This year, 29 residents took the exam and received electronic feedback on their performance.

View the minutes of the 2026 Business Meeting.

The Southern Association for Vascular Surgery is now accepting abstracts/videos for their 2027 Annual Meeting. Please submit your abstracts/videos today for consideration in the 2027 Annual Scientific Program.

Save the Date 52nd Annual Meeting January 12-15, 2028 The Cloister at Sea Island Sea Island, GA

View the list of members elected in 2025.

Best Bahamian Attire at the Postgraduate Course Award
David J. Minion

GOLF TOURNAMENT:
24 Players

1st Place FourThreesome:
1. Ed Scopelitis
2. Jason White
3. Tino Rugerio
Closest to the Pin: Tino Rugerio
Longest Drive: Daniel Copeland

BEST SHOES
Chelsey AbuRahma

BEST ATTIRE (male)
Joshua Arnold

Aortic Sizing Competition Winners Supported by Cooke Medical
1st Place Julia Ruffo
2nd Place Lucas Hunter
3rd Place Andrew Huang

Skills Competition Winner
Rae Rokosh

ePoster Winners
Ellen D Dillavou for eP11. VasQ US Clinical Study Outcomes Confirmed in Real World Consecutive Cohort from First Year After FDA De Novo Approval

Hannah Victoria Oden-Brunson for eP12. Spinal Cord Injury in Patients Undergoing Fenestrated-branched Endovascular Repair of Complex Aortic Aneurysms: Incidence, Clinical Course and Survival

See photos from the meeting.

View all of the Sponsors & Exhibitors from this year's meeting.

Benjamin J. Pearce, MD

The Southern Association for Vascular Surgery is fresh off it’s 50th Anniversary celebration in the Bahamas!!! Congratulations to President Tracci, our 50th President for presiding over a singular meeting. And welcome to new President Mark Farber who will welcome us to the Naples Grande Beach Resort January 13-16, 2027 for our 51st Annual Meeting. More details about the resort can be found at naplesgrande.com.

The annual meeting continues to gain traction as one of the most sought after destinations for cutting edge science and dissemination of novel surgical technique. We had record attendance and submissions for the meeting last year and we anticipate continued high submissions to come.

Trainee Impact on Postoperative Outcomes for Open and Endovascular Aortic Repair in the Vascular Quality Initiative
Joseph R. Chitwood, Zdenek Novak, Emily L. Spangler, Juliet Blakeslee-Carter, Adam W. Beck
University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

Dementia is Associated with Early Mortality and Other Adverse Outcomes after Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
Samir K. Shah
University of Florida, Gainesville, Gainesville, FL

The Southern Association for Vascular Surgery is now accepting abstracts for their 2027 Annual Meeting. Please submit your abstracts today for consideration in the 2027 Annual Scientific Program.
Deadline: Tuesday, September 1, 2026, 11:59 pm EDT