General Information

The quality programme for vascular surgery is composed of vascular surgeons, angiologists, interventional radiologists and neurosurgeons and analyzes abdominal vascular surgeries and interventions, as well as carotid procedures. A well established cooperation exists with the Swiss Association for vascular surgery that aids in the development and expansion of quality indicators. Data from the SwissVasc Register and routine data from hospitals have been matched and evaluated since 2024. An article about the advantages of matching both data sets can be found here.

Since 2018, the participation in the SwissVasc register has been mandatory for all hospitals with service agreements in the Canton of Zurich. In the quality programme for vascular surgery, all primary and secondary surgeons for every medical intervention must be documented and reported.

Expert Group

The expert group for vascular surgery collectively coordinates the quality circle and carries out quality analyses. In the fall of 2025, it was decided that the expert group for vascular surgery for 2026 should be composed of the following external experts:

• Dr. med. Thomas Lattmann, Department Representative Quality- Head of Swissvasc Registry

• Prof. Dr. med. Mario Lachat (new)

• Dr. med. Lorenz Meuli (new)

• Optional: Dr. med. Tilman Schubert (new, for questions about the carotis)

Depending on the situation, Prof. Dr. med. N. Kucher is available for ideas for the further development and future considerations of angiology.

Updates

• Preview for 2026: Due to the delayed delivery of the national data (switch to SPIGES by the BAG), the focus on the documentation of complications was postponed to 2026

• Update 2025: In 2025, the documentation of the complications in the register was targeted. As the cantonal routine data (along the lines of a patient pathway) provided sufficient information on complications following carotid interventions, it was decided that hospitals may forgo documenting follow-up visits after carotid interventions in the registry in the future. Thus, reducing the administrative burden on hospitals.

• Update 2024: The register was matched on a case basis of the SwissVasc register and routine data for the first time in 2024. In doing so, a few obstacles were encountered so that only a few conclusions could be drawn (completeness as well as evaluation of the circumference of the operated aorta aneurysms)Preview for 2026: Due to the delayed delivery of the national data (switch to SPIGES by the BAG), the focus on the documentation of complications was delayed until 2026