Venous and Lymphatic Medicine Fellowship

Overview

The Venous and Lymphatic Medicine Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital is a clinical and research academic program that prepares practitioners for careers in vascular medicine and surgery using a multidisciplinary approach to these circulatory systems. This one-year fellowship explores vascular medicine and surgery, cardiology, and interventional radiology. Training occurs online and in the following locations: Mass General’s main campus in Boston, Mass General Vein Care in Stoneham, the Mass General / North Shore Center for Outpatient Care in Danvers, and Mass General Waltham.

Venous and lymphatic medicine is the discipline that involves the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic venous and lymphatic disorders, including varicose veins, venous edema, chronic venous insufficiency with skin changes, venous leg ulcers, deep venous disease, pelvic venous insufficiency syndromes, congenital venous anomalies, venous thromboembolism (VTE), lymphedema and other circulatory disorders.

This fellowship program is open to students with backgrounds in medicine, radiology, or surgery and enables physicians to become expert in managing most aspects of venous and lymphatic disease. The multidisciplinary approach, inclusion of both clinical and research components, and the eligibility for the ABVLM (American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine) certification exam make it a well-rounded training opportunity. Fellows will be trained to perform most minimally invasive procedures for superficial venous disorders and will also be exposed to the management of acute and chronic deep venous disorders. 

Curriculum

The Mass General Venous and Lymphatic Medicine Fellowship:
(1) outlines the knowledge necessary to identify and manage venous, lymphatic, arteriovenous, and venolymphatic conditions and their sequelae; (2) provides a Core Content outline for training across all the different specialties that treat venous and lymphatic disease; and (3) describes a fund of knowledge expected of practitioners of venous and lymphatic medicine and surgery.

Diagnostic techniques introduced in this fellowship include:

• History and physical examination
• Non-invasive imaging and physiologic examination, including:
  • Duplex ultrasound
  • Computed tomographic venography (CTV)
  • Magnetic resonance venography (MRV)
  • Plethysmographic techniques

During this Fellowship, a broad array of therapeutic modalities is used to address the range of venous and lymphatic disorders, including:

• Compression therapy techniques
• Decongestive lymphatic therapy
• Chemical ablation modalities
• Thermal ablation device
• Laser
• Percutaneous catheter-based treatments
• Ultrasound-based modalities
• Pharmacological treatment
• Surgical approaches

The core content of this Fellowship comprises five major categories:

• Basic sciences
• Diagnostic evaluation
• Treatment modalities in venous and lymphatic medicine
• Clinical sciences
• Other components and core competencies of the practice of venous and lymphatic medicine

Fellows attend a regular schedule of conferences and meetings throughout the year, including weekly vascular medicine conferences, vascular surgery didactics, M&M conferences, and surgical grand rounds. In addition, Fellows attend monthly vascular medicine and vascular surgery journal club meetings; carotid, PAD, and aortic conferences; vascular malformations meetings; and an emergent PERT consortium.

Clinical Experience

Mass General Venous and Lymphatic Medicine Fellows will gain experience in ambulatory care in our Vein Centers in Stoneham and Waltham. There, they will participate in daily clinical evaluations and perform superficial venous procedures with supervision. They will manage wounds, perform ultrasounds both in clinic and in the vascular laboratory, and learn percutaneous access techniques, ultrasound guidance, all methods of ablation (radiofrequency, laser, foam, glue, etc.), ambulatory phlebectomy, and sclerotherapy injections.

Fellows also have rotations on Mass General’s main hospital campus in the Hematology Clinic, Dermatology Clinic, Wound Care Center, and Vascular Medicine Clinic. Fellows will participate as a member of the Vascular Medicine team to evaluate and treat both inpatient and outpatient clinic cases and will be an active member of the PERT throughout the year.

Research Experience

All Mass General Venous and Lymphatic Medicine Fellows will complete an original research project as part of the program. The fellow will be given specific research days to work on their project throughout the year and is expected to check in with their research mentor/supervisor weekly. Fellows will present their research findings to the Vascular Surgery Research team upon completion of the project, and scholarly publication and co-authorship will be encouraged and fostered.

How to Apply

To apply for the Fellowship, please submit the following documents electronically via email by Saturday, February 23, 2024, to vlmfellow@mgh.harvard.edu:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Personal statement of interest in the field (limit 500 words)
• Documentation of completion or pending completion of ACGME training program
• American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) results
• United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1, 2, and 3 results
• Four letters of reference; one must be from your current/most recent program director