An Interview with Dr. Frank J. Veith

As the VEITHsymposium in New York City, NY, approaches, we at the Landing Zone thought it would be interesting to learn more about the meeting and the man behind it. Dr. Frank Veith was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to sit down and chat with us. Below are some of the highlights of the conversation:

- Since taking over the meeting, Dr. Veith has seen it grow from a small regional meeting with a faculty of 20 to the premier educational meeting with a faculty of almost 400 medical professionals.

- Over the years, the symposium format has changed from long presentations on few topics to a more rapid-fire approach featuring presentations no longer than 5 minutes that cover a wide range of topics.

- Dr. Veith was a pioneer in linking with industry, stemming from his belief that it is the relationship between medical device companies and physicians that sparks the greatest innovation. This is why there is such a large industry presence at the meeting.

- VEITH is a global meeting; each year the number of foreign participants increases, providing more diversity and insight into vascular topics. To provide extra value to surgeons from Latin American countries, this year the VEITHsymposium will feature live, simultaneous English-to-Spanish translation of all presentations.

- According to Dr. Veith, the main problem with the symposium is that there is "too much good stuff" and it becomes difficult to see everything. To remedy this problem, the VEITHsymposium now records every presentation and places it online free of charge to all registered attendees. The presentations will be available shortly after the conclusion of the symposium at www.prolibraries.com/veithsymposium.

- The VEITHsymposium is for all physicians. With industry-sponsored simulators, new product launches, revelation of new research and study findings, presentations from the "best and the brightest," massive networking opportunities and much more, there is something that should appeal to everyone from medical students to highly tenured and experienced physicians.

- The audience of the VEITHsymposium includes three main groups: attendees, industry and faculty. The focus of Dr. Veith and his staff is to ensure that all three groups are happy during the meeting and feel that their investment was worthwhile.

The VEITHsymposium runs November 18-22 at the Hilton New York in New York City, NY. For more information on the symposium and to register, visit http://www.veithsymposium.org/. Cook Medical will also be launching 10 new products in 3 days during the event, including the new Zenith TX2 with Pro-Form, so be sure to stop by the Cook pavilion on the third floor of the Hilton New York to be a part of the festivities.