The SVIN 14th Annual Meeting held on November 17-20th, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona definitely lived up to its title as, “Destined to be Epic”. The annual meeting drew in a record number of attendees, with 647 in-person (including 63 fellows) and 297 virtual, and record sponsorship.
Day One of the meeting commenced with early morning hikes around the trails of the Sheraton Grand. Due to the popularity of these hikes, attendees will see more events like these in the future!
Stroke Day kicked of with the MT2020+ Brunch, which Dr. Dileep Yavagal and colleagues provided insightful updates on pertinent to SVIN global MT2020+ initiative.
The well-attended Stroke Center Workshop, chaired by Drs. Alexandrov and Czap, covered pertinent topics on developing systems of care, TNK, AI, ICH management, and included a spirited discussion on “Is MSU a “Marketing Ploy””. Dr. Grotta served as the keynote lecturer. The day ended with the Welcome Reception, sponsored by Penumbra and the CLOTS Workshop, sponsored by Cerenovus.
Day Two commenced with a warm welcome to attendees, given by Dr. Ortega, chair of annual meeting, followed by passionate debates on best approaches for M2 and beyond (Drs. Nogueira and Demchuk), skipping tPA before MT (Drs. Saver and Tsivgoulis, and when should EVT be offered (Drs. Tsai and Chen). The Presidential address was given by Dr. Liebeskind, where newly elected officials and board members were congratulated, as well as awardees for FSVIN, best abstract, pilot grants, and innovation and distinguished service awards.
The platform sessions (day 2 and 3) highlighted SVIN’s best research, including the CLEAR (Dr. Nguyen) and PICASSO (Drs. Ortega and Zaidat) studies. With a record number of abstracts submitted this year, SVIN was able to showcase the amazing growth of our society’s research initiative. After the sponsored lunch sessions, the meeting had three concurrent sessions: APP, Vascular Neurology, and Expansion of EVT.
The Expansion of EVT: Novel Therapeutic Approaches session highlighted some of our most talented women in the field and was the first ever session at SVIN moderated by women and included all women speakers.
Day Two ended with a successful joint session on endovascular and vascular neurology, moderated by Drs. Sarraj and Zha, and two memorable receptions: Members in Training and Women in Vascular and Interventional Neurology.
Day Three started with our popular, “How to get published” workshop, hosted by Drs. Mokin and Jadhav and the Keynote Address given by Dr. Matt Gounis. After the sponsored lunch symposiums, we heard sessions on aneurysms (Drs. Toth and Dandapat), NCS Joint Session (Drs. Wolfe, Al-Mufti, Mayer) and complex cases and bail-out techniques (Drs.Grigoryan and Khandelwal). Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Reception, sponsored by Cerenovus, rounded out the day.
The highlight of our night was the SVIN Black and White Gala, sponsored by Viz.ai, which celebrated our new S:VIN Journal. Over 200 attendees gathered for an epic night of red-carpet treatment, food, dancing, and fun under the Arizona desert sky. This must be at event is sure to become a staple in future SVIN annual meetings to come!
Day Four highlighted important clinical trial updates in the field, including TESLA (Dr. Zaidat) and ENDOLOW (Dr. Nogueira), which was then followed by the endovascular and vascular joint session 2 (Drs. Sheth and Aghaebrahim). The day was rounded out by our popular fellow’s course, which featured hands-on sessions for our up and coming trainees.
All throughout the meeting, our busy SVIN Ambassadors (led by Drs. Al-Mufti and El-Ghanem,) did an amazing job highlighting #SVINAM on social media.
We cannot thank our volunteers, members, and sponsors enough for the success of this meeting. As Dr. Ortega described the meeting, “It was simply the best!”. I think you are right, Dr. Ortega. We hope everyone has a good year and see you for SVIN 2022 in Los Angeles, CA!
