
VASCUNET is a collaboration of clinical and administrative vascular registries, administered and partly funded by the European Society of Vascular Surgery (ESVS).
VASCUNET was established to improve the quality, safety and effectiveness of vascular healthcare in Europe and Australasia. Several reports and original articles have been published to date.
More than 40 members from 26 different countries work together within this growing research and quality improvement collaboration.
VASCUNET was established in 1997 at the ESVS Annual Meeting in Lisbon (Portugal). The participants of this first meeting (T. Troëng, M. Björck, I. Thomson, et al.) achieved a consensual agreement that there should be a common European minimal dataset for vascular registries and an organising committee was set up to organise a session at the meeting for presentation of national vascular registries.
During the following 23 years (1997-2020), this open-minded collaboration grew rapidly to a global network active in real-world evidence!
The structure of VASCUNET
The VASCUNET committee comprises 1-2 representatives from national or regional quality improvement registries. One chair is assigned for a three-year term (currently 2020-2023) supported by a secretary. To coordinate transatlantic projects in the International Consortium of Vascular Registries (ICVR), the VASCUNET committee assigns a co-chair to this amalgamation of the VASCUNET and the United States Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI).

Here are the current members of the VASCUNET committee:
Christian-Alexander Behrendt (Chair VASCUNET), Germany | Kevin Mani (Co-Chair ICVR), Sweden |
Nicla Settembre, France | Paulo E. Ocke Reis, Brazil |
Fabien Lareyre, France | Maarit Venermo, Finland |
Eike Sebastian Debus, Germany | Riikka Tulamo, Finland |
Andreas Lazaris, Greece | Konstantinos G. Moulakakis, Greece |
Gabor Menyhei, Hungary | Zoltan Szeberin, Hungary |
Elin Laxdal, Finland | Carlo Setacci, Italy |
Stefano Ancetti, Italy | Barry Beiles, Australia |
Kevin Cassar, Malta | Matthew Grima, Malta |
Laurien Kuhrij, Netherlands | Gert Jan de Borst, Netherlands |
Jo Krysa, New Zealand | Ian Thomson, New Zealand |
Martin Altreuther, Norway | Frederico Bastos Goncalves, Portugal |
Mihai Ionac, Romania | Alexei Svetlikov, Russia |
Ana Maria Vrancianu, Romania | Ivan Cvjetko, Croatia |
Igor Koncar, Serbia | Cristina Lopez Espada, Spain |
Birgitta Sigvant, Sweden | Milijenko Kovačević, Croatia |
Thomas Lattman, Switzerland | Jonathan Boyle, United Kingdom |
Arkadiusz Kazimierczak, Poland |
Join the VASCUNET committe!
Currently, several ongoing projects on carotid artery stenosis, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, peripheral arterial occlusive disease and amputation practice are coordinated. The committee is looking for new members to improve European and Australasian cross-border vascular research and quality improvement.
Ongoing projects
Currently, there are several ongoing projects and data collections organised by the VASCUNET committee:
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)
Principal Investigator: Kevin Mani
Core Variables and Recommendations
Amputation Practice
Carotid Artery Stenosis
Principal Investigator: Maarit Venermo
Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease (PAOD)
Principal Investigator: Christian-Alexander Behrendt
VASCUNET reports
Find the latest VASCUNET publications here.