Sumner Session: Building a Venous and Lymphatic Specialty

The Case for a Venous and Lymphatic Subspecialty

A multispecialty workgroup proposed fellowship training and board certification in venous and lymphatic medicine, citing patients who received fragmented care without a unified pathway, and noting ablation procedures are performed by more than forty specialties today.

Focused Practice Designation as a Faster Path

An alternative favored a focused practice designation modeled on the hospitalist pathway, requiring documented case volume, attestations, and an exam sponsored by an existing board, arguing this could be implemented within a few years rather than the decade a subspecialty needs.

Training Gaps Across Specialties

Speakers noted vascular surgery residents graduate with minimal required venous case volume, interventional radiology training lists venous work as undetermined, and no pathway trains physicians across the full spectrum from sclerotherapy to deep venous reconstruction.

Credentialing Physicians Already in Practice

Panelists debated whether to grandfather practicing physicians into new credentials or require documented experience and testing, noting insurers had previously excluded qualified physicians from certain specialties, and agreed any pathway must avoid disenfranchising trained or experienced practitioners.