In June 1973, the Society for Vascular Surgery and the North American Chapter of the International Cardiovascular Society (ICVS) held their annual meetings back to back, as is their custom. The members will, we are sure, all agree that the most significant event emerging from the Toronto meeting was acceptance of the concept of vascular surgery as a formal specialty.
A recent previous president of the ICVS's North American Chapter, Dr. Jack Cannon, had in his presidential address drawn attention to the tragedies that are the common results of vascular operations performed by surgeons with incomplete training and overabundant enthusiasm. In the previous year Dr. E. J. Wylie in his presidential address to the same society made the firm recommendation that formal vascular training programs and their products be given recognition and that the better of them be used as standards for the formation of new ones.
Almost simultaneously the