A Lifetime of Achievement in Vascular Surgery
Wayne Johnston
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K. Wayne Johnston
received the Lifetime
Achievement Award of
the Society for Vascular
Surgery in Denver,
Colorado in June. The
SVS is an international
organization that "seeks
to advance excellence and
innovation in vascular
health through education,
advocacy, research
and public awareness". The award is the highest honour
that the Society and specialty bestows. Selection recognizes
an individual's outstanding and sustained contributions
both to the profession and to the Society for Vascular
Surgery. Wayne is the tenth recipient of this award and
the first Canadian. Previous recipients include Michael
DeBakey, Robert Rutherford and Jesse Thompson.
Wayne's contributions to vascular surgery education are
outstanding internationally and locally. He served as
editor for the Journal of Vascular Surgery for six years,
raising its impact factor by 40%. He served as co-editor
of the seventh edition of the iconic Rutherford Textbook
of Vascular Surgery. With his colleagues, Wayne founded
one of the first vascular training programs in Canada.
The program has produced 37 trainees; 24 hold university
positions. With his engineering colleague and
co-investigator Richard Cobbold, Professor Emeritus,
Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, he has cosupervised
43 masters or doctoral level graduate biomedical
engineers.
Wayne's clinical and basic research contributions include
the reference standard Toronto series of 997 consecutive
peripheral arterial balloon angioplasties. This was
the first critical evaluation of this innovation; it gained
the respect that has established angioplasty as a standard
component of vascular surgery. The vascular lab at the
Toronto General Hospital was one of the first established
in North America. With Richard Cobbold, Wayne
maintained national level MRC and CIHR funding for
31 years, establishing the effectiveness and standards of
ultrasound evaluation of vascular disease and developing
an understanding of the basic ultrasound and hemodynamic
principles involved. The Canadian aneurysm
study was a nine-month blitzing snapshot of 834 consecutive
patients treated by open repair of abdominal
aneurysm by 72 surgeons across Canada. This study
defined the results and safety of the procedure and predictors
of results.
A meticulous and gifted surgeon, Wayne is described
by nurse practitioner Sue DeVries, his colleague for 19
years: "Dr. Johnston was always available, very respected
by the nurses, and fun to work with. He speaks to patients
at their level of understanding, finds and mobilizes the
resources they need, and never leaves any loose ends. An awesome
teacher and an expert in everything he does."
During his 25-year commitment to the Society for
Vascular Surgery, Wayne rose from membership chairman
to Recorder to President. As 62nd president of the society,
he did strategic planning and prioritization of the society's
programs. Wayne was very involved in the logistics and
political solutions to merging the Society for Vascular
Surgery, an exclusive and academic body, with the larger
International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery, a more
inclusive cohort of practicing vascular surgeons. The
thoughtful solution was to incorporate the criteria for the
original SVS into a new category called Distinguished
Fellows. This helped to maintain the academic eclat that
is important for university advancement. The merger
was very helpful for increasing the influence of vascular
surgery in negotiation with governments and making the
change in the nature of the specialty as vascular surgeons
learned how to incorporate minimally invasive endovascular
techniques into their practice.
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In accepting the honour, Wayne thanked his wife Jean,
a practicing clinical neurologist at St. Michaels Hospital,
his vascular colleagues in the Toronto General division, his
mentors Ronald Baird, Bernard Langer and Bruce Tovee,
and the outstanding cadre of volunteers in the SVS.
Wayne has been impressed how enthusiastic and diligent
the members of the Society have been in accepting organizational
responsibility. There are currently 250 surgeons
involved in the volunteer activities of the society. Writing
groups are currently working on more than 20 policy and
practice guidelines that are being produced under Wayne's
supervision. On the day I interviewed him, he was actively
engaged in this important work.
As he looks back on his surgical career, the two most satisfying
aspects are "resident education and our basic research
contributions." In accepting the award, Wayne closed with
thanks and praise for volunteers. "What is the reward for
volunteer service? The payback has been expressed in an epitaph
which reads: 'what I spent is gone, what I kept is lost,
what I gave working for others will be mine forever'. I salute
you, the volunteers, who are making a difference. Thank you
for this humbling honour."
M.M.
PRAISE FOR WAYNE JOHNSTON, IN A LETTER FROM ONE OF HIS COLLEAGUES
"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote the opera Don
Giovanni in one sitting, and it was played the following
day without any rehearsal. Innate talents do exist, and
your achievements in Vascular Surgery obviously are
another demonstration of them.
The demands of our profession often exhaust us as
we strive to create opportunities from challenges. The
satisfaction that we draw from within ourselves, for a
job well done, is enough to prepare us for the next goal.
However, professional recognition and respect are equally
important. I am pleased to hear that the Society for
Vascular Surgery has honoured your achievements with
its prestigious Society's Lifetime Achievement Award.
It really could not be bestowed on a more deserving
recipient. Vascular surgeons in Canada and in the States
must appreciate your unrelenting efforts to help with the
progress of our discipline."
Claudio Cina, Vascular Surgery, St. Michael's Hospital,
Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto
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