Welcome Address

             
Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Allow me to invite you to the 8th congress of the Vascular Access Society to be held in 2013 in Prague.

Vascular access care is an emerging multi-disciplinary issue of modern medicine with significant technological progress. Vascular access is responsible for significant morbidity and for up to 40% of dialysis-related costs.
Without vascular access, dialysis and oncological therapy simply cannot be achieved. However, vascular access is reponsible for significant local and systemic hemodynamic changes. Half of the dialysis patients die from cardiovascular complications. Moreover, vascular complications limit the maturation of the access and the access itself contributes to the development or de-compensation of heart failure.
All these issues will be presented and discussed during the congress. The preferred method will be the Viewpoints approach – viewpoints of one problem by different specialists. Mechanisms of access complications will be discussed in detail. For the first time, we will include also the Hotlines session to present latest important findings. Vascular access ultrasonography course will be included.

Prague has, however, much more to offer to the congress participants. Its historical center ranks among the most beautiful city centers worldwide thanks to a picturesque combination of various architectural styles – Gothic, Renaissance, Art Nouveau, Cubism, but especially Baroque. The city center is safe and rich in galleries, exhibitions, theaters, restaurants and bars. The congress will take place at the Prague Congress Center, which is close to the city center and offers a magnificent view of the Prague Castle. The weather is usually nice in April, with average daily temperatures 15-17°C (55-59°F).
Prague is located in the heart of Europe, so it is easy to reach from anywhere in the world.
Dear friends, do not forget to keep the date 25-27 April 2013 free for the 8th VAS congress.
See you in Prague!

Jan Malik
E-mail: malik.jan@vfn.cz