John J. Bergan, MD
#2: 1978-1979
Dr. Bergan is currently practicing vascular surgery in La Jolla, California. A principal Founder of the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society, he is Professor of Surgery at the University of California, San Diego, and The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Until 1988, Dr. Bergan fulfilled clinical and teaching responsibilities as Magerstadt Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University’s Medical School in Chicago. There, he was Founder and First Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery.
The Northwestern Vascular Service developed an integrated vascular laboratory, a respected teaching service, a fellowship training program that has contributed many leaders to peripheral vascular surgery, and an annual symposium that produced a number of textbooks on a variety of vascular surgical subjects.
After 1989, Dr. Bergan’s clinical and research efforts turned exclusively to the venous system. His continuing interest in duplex scanning led to early employment of venous reflux testing and the discovery that deep venous reflux could be ameliorated by superficial venous reflux ablation. Angioscopic observations of saphenous vein valve damage and destruction led to research on the causes of this valvular damage. There, observations on inappropriate leukocyte activation have shown that both valvular and vein wall damage are associated with leukocyte activation by venous hypertension, an effect that can be blocked by pharmacologic intervention. Dr. Bergan’s personal contributions to the literature comprise over 600 publications that span the entire spectrum of arterial and venous diseases.
After Dr. Bergan focused on venous disorders, his investigations resulted in over 150 publications on venous subjects, and an additional seven textbooks focusing on venous disorders. An avid sailing enthusiast, Dr. Bergan has had a full career in yacht racing, serving as a senior race judge for the United States Sailing Association and authoring a manual of Sailing and Yachting First Aid.
After Dr. Bergan was instrumental in founding the Midwest Vascular Surgical Society, he and others founded the American Venous Forum. He has served as editor for the Year Book of Vascular Surgery, has been on the editorial boards of numerous journals, such as Surgery, Journal of Vascular Surgery, British Journal of Surgery, Annals of Vascular Surgery, Vascular Surgery, and Phlebology. He has served as President of the Society for Vascular Surgery, the IV European-American Venous Symposium, Chicago Surgical Society, Association Internationale de Vascular Surgeons, Gulf Coast Vascular Society, and most recently, the Southern California Vascular Surgical Society. He was the first President of the American Venous Forum.
