October 19, 2010 marked the start of the 8th Annual Vascular InterVentional Advances (VIVA) meeting, held in Las Vegas at the beautiful ARIA Resort & Casino at CityCenter. This year’s meeting saw record attendance numbers of over 2,000 including industry supporters. VIVA™ is a multi-specialty, collaborative educational experience with a focus on peripheral vascular disease.
The conference provided the latest techniques in interventional advances and offered live case demonstrations combined with cutting-edge learning activities. The meeting was a success, with 95% of attendees claiming they would attend VIVA™ in the future. What attracted attendees most to VIVA 10 was the “combination of interactive opportunities with great faculty and live cases” in addition to the meeting providing “a great opportunity to see how other specialties treat vascular disease.”
The consistent use of state-of-the-art technology helps VIVA stand apart from other educational meetings. VIVA attendees enjoy the use of meeting-provided laptops to access the Laptop Learning™ module which integrates multiple forms of media helping attendees target their specific learning needs. Laptop Learning™ allows participants to learn at their own pace, respond to polls and questions, and engage in real-time interactivity with faculty experts.
The laptops provide extended viewing of VIVA’s live case demonstrations, which featured Leipzig, Germany as the first International site. Attendees who utilized Laptop Learning™ at VIVA 10 liked “to ask questions and interact with faculty” and “have the ability to access multiple facets of an issue-simultaneously.”
Prior to the official Tuesday start of VIVA™, attendees were offered four Monday pre-symposia programs including
Venous Thromboembolism: Advancing the New Frontier, Vascular Closure for Large Devices, an Allied Health CE session, and for the first time, a full-day Endovascular Board Review Course, a collaboration with the Society for Vascular Medicine (SVM).
Preparation for ABVM's exam
This review course focused on preparing attendees for the American Board of Vascular Medicine endovascular board certification examination. World-renowned faculty provided current critical components required for successful completion of the exam. The course was extremely successful and a similar program will be offered for VIVA 11.
Tuesday marked the first day of the VIVA program dedicated to PVD, including a presentation on the Ethics of Live Case Demonstrations: Are We Doing the Right Thing?, by Jeremy Sugarman, MD. “Eclectic Hot Topics” covered New Drug Therapies for DVT, a debate about Vena Cava filters and Endovenous Ablation: Laser vs. RF Ablation.
What's new for VIVA?
New for VIVA 10, the event also included a session covering late-breaking trials. This provided results from several major trials, including Dr. Michel S. Makaroun’s presentation on outcomes at one year for Medtronic’s Endurant Stent Graft System and Dr. Andrew Holden’s first-in-man clinical results on the use of Flexible Stenting Solution’s FlexStent SE system.
VIVA™10 attendees had to say the following about the meeting:
“It’s the best run conference of the year and sets a high bar for everyone else.”
“This was my first time attending and this was one of the best meetings I have attended.”
“I attend most of the major interventional/vascular meetings and have for the last ~20 years. This single meeting has unquestionably had the most nutritional value. More professional transformative information in less time than at any other meeting in memory.” V
The next VIVA™ annual meeting will be held October 18-21, 2011 at WYNN Las Vegas, Nevada. New for VIVA 11 will be a Monday pre-course session focusing on DVT/Thromboembolic and a session dedicated to FDA/Regulatory Pathways/New Technology. Once again, late-breaking trials will be presented and VIVA™ will continue its international presence within live case demonstrations as VIVA strives to continue its state-of-the-art presence in vascular education.
