The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) honored two surgeons—instead of the traditional one—with its highest honors, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) last week.

It’s only the third time the Society has done so in the award’s history, said Michael C. Dalsing, MD. He presented the honorees: Enrico Ascher, MD, professor of surgery at NYU Langone School of Medicine, and Julie Freischlag, MD, formerly dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and now chief academic officer of Advocate Health. Freischlag was SVS’ first—and still only—woman president.

Both Ascher and Freischlag are “exceptionally deserving of this prestigious distinction,” said Dalsing.