Vascular surgery in the United States. Report of the Joint Society for Vascular Surgery—International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery Committee on Vascular Surgical Manpower

Abstract

The Joint Committee on Vascular Surgical Manpower was established in 1985 by the Society for Vascular Surgery and the North American Chapter of the International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery. It was charged to provide recommendations regarding vascular surgical manpower requirements for the next 15 years. Analysis of National Center for Health Statistics vascular operative rate data and 1690 questionnaire responses from vascular surgeons documented that vascular surgeons performed 235,400 (41%) of the total of 571,000 vascular operations undertaken in 1985. Vascular surgeons performed 87% of 30,000 aortoiliofemoral reconstructions, 77% of 72,000 peripheral vessel bypasses, 75% of 33,000 abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs, 59% of 55,000 angioaccess procedures, and 50% of 107,000 carotid endarterectomies. However, lack of accurate data on caseloads of surgeons who were not vascular specialists precludes precise prediction of manpower requirements for vascular surgery. It is important that surgical leaders and policy makers define the types of vascular surgical procedures that may be undertaken by vascular and other surgeons. Ongoing analyses must include such determinations to establish accurate data for the prediction of future manpower needs for vascular surgery. Furthermore, future manpower studies should be linked to outcome studies to assess not only numbers of surgeons and operations but quality of care as well.