ACS Brief

Latest Stories

Dr. Monica Bertagnolli Is Elected President of National Academy of Medicine

January 20, 2026

Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, a renowned surgical oncologist and cancer researcher who served as the 17th Director of the National Institutes of Health and the 16th Director National Cancer Institute (NCI), last week was elected president of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). She begins her 6-year term in July.

International Surgeons: Request Visa Letter Now for Clinical Congress 2026

January 20, 2026

For international surgeons who anticipate needing a visa to travel, an official invitation letter can be provided to support your application. Based on current global visa wait times and depending on your country of residence, visa appointments may take 6–9 months or longer. Planning ahead and applying as early as possible can help avoid delays and keep your options open.

Advisory Council Describes How Vascular Verification Provides Data-Driven Mark of Excellence

January 20, 2026

In an era where vascular care complexity surges, spanning open, endovascular, arterial, venous, and lymphatic procedures, the ACS and Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) partnered to help vascular surgery programs objectively demonstrate excellence through the Vascular Verification Program (Vascular-VP).

Read this week's entire issue for the latest news on the ACS and the field of surgery.

January 20, 2026 Issue

ACS Brief

Explore Most Read Bulletin Articles from 2025

Discover which articles published in the ACS Bulletin were the most popular with your surgeon colleagues in 2025.

ACS Brief

Nominate Colleagues for ACS Officers-Elect, Secretary, and Board of Regents Positions

ACS leadership nominations are open for 2026, with key positions beginning at Clinical Congress in September.

ACS Brief

Master Time Management, Set Boundaries in Your Surgical Career

Learn practical strategies for time management, delegation, and boundary setting to support surgeon well-being and performance.

ACS Brief

Recognize Your Altruistic Peers and Trainees with Nominations for Volunteerism Awards

Submit nominations by February 23, 2026, for ACS awards celebrating surgical volunteerism, global education, and lifelong humanitarian service.

ACS Brief

Women in Surgery Committee Seeks Mentors, Mentees

Apply by May 1 for the ACS Women in Surgery Committee Mentorship Program, open to mentors and mentees across surgical specialties.

Don't Miss Out!

Go to your MyCME Portal today and verify your ABS ID and date of birth on the Board Certification Tab so you can have your CME data automatically transmitted to the ABS via ACCME.

Mentorship Helps Surgeons Pay Their Success Forward

The latest episode of The House of Surgery podcast features Dr. Jennifer Lawton, a cardiothoracic surgeon from Baltimore, Maryland, who delivered the Olga Jonasson Lecture during Clinical Congress 2025 in Chicago. In her lecture, “Pay It Forward—The Enduring Impact of Mentors,” Dr. Lawton discussed how the support of mentors is vital for early career surgeons and also pays dividends for experienced surgeons.

What Drives Outcomes Disparity Between Rural and Urban Patients in Colon Cancer Resection?

Rural populations experience higher colon cancer mortality than urban populations, as well as more complications after resection. Dr. Sarah Myers discussed her recent JACS article examining the mediating factors between colon cancer resection in these populations, which found that increasing access to minimally invasive surgery could reduce the disparity.

Literature Selections

Centralized Surgical Care Significantly Improves Patient Outcomes, System Performance

A systematic review finds centralizing complex surgical care within multihospital systems improves mortality, morbidity, and failure-to-rescue rates.

Transitional Circulating Tumor Cells Hold Predictive Value for Patients Undergoing PDAC

A CLUSTER trial analysis shows transitional circulating tumor cells predict recurrence risk and chemotherapy benefit after pancreatic cancer surgery.

Past Issues