“The United State of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine”—uniting the specialties to form a more perfect union

Abstract

In 2020, Dr. B K Lal gave his Presidential address, memorializing his term at the American Venous Forum (AVF.)[1] In that address, Dr. Lal eloquently summarized the challenges facing Venous and Lymphatic Medicine (VLM), including broad variation in practice patterns, the lack of formal graduate medical education among many VLM practitioners, and insurance carriers, such as Total Health Care (THC) in Michigan, making ad hoc determinations on who is qualified to treat VLM patients. It was the last comment that struck me, since I was the doctor in Michigan to which Dr.