The Kinked Wire

“In a field like interventional radiology, innovative new devices and procedures are created with regularity. But with so many new approaches being developed every year, how do interventional radiologists best assess these innovations for adoption? IRs must perform a balancing act when considering which devices and treatments to adopt, guided by information, experience and the needs of the patient...

“After college, there’s medical school. And after medical school comes additional training with a residency and (for now) fellowship—but not all IRs stop there. In fact, many have discovered the benefits that additional advanced degrees can afford their careers." In the audio version of "Degrees of Separation: The role of interventional radiology on the trauma team"  ( IR Quarterly:...

This recording features audio versions of November 2022  Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology ( JVIR ) abstracts: Inferior Vena Cava Filter Litigation Review: An Analysis of Medicolegal Cases Pertaining to Inferior Vena Cava Filters Read Management of Symptomatic Vascularized Retained Products of Conception by Proximal Uterine Artery Embolization with Gelatin Sponge Torpedoes Read Sten...

This recording features audio versions of October 2022  Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology ( JVIR ) abstracts: Percutaneous Hemodialysis Fistula Creation Read Long-Term Results from the Pivotal Multicenter Trial of Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Arteriovenous Fistula Creation for Hemodialysis Access Read Changes in the National Endovascular Management of Femoropopliteal Arterial Dise...

“I don't personally love going too far down the roots of any subspecialty, because then you lose the forest for the trees. And I think ultimately, the more holistic you can be, the better off the patient will be. So if you come in for one problem, you should be able to assess the other problems.” — Geogy Vatakencherry, MD, FSIR Host Warren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with interventional radiolo...

“So in general, an office-based lab might be more easy to stand up. There might be less cost associated with an OBL and fewer hurdles from the regulatory standpoint for a physician to jump over.” — Joel R. Rainwater, MD Host Roger T. Tomihama, MD, speaks with interventional radiologist Joel R. Rainwater, MD, about his experience building a network of 12 office-based labs (OBLs) in 5 states, what i...

This recording features audio versions of September 2022  Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology ( JVIR ) abstracts: Uterine Artery Embolization for Pedunculated Subserosal Fibroids: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Read Microwave Ablation as Bridging to Liver Transplant for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis Read Phase 0 Study of Vandetan...

“I went to my Legislative Council and said, ‘Listen, I need to make an adjustment to the original bill. I think it’s important that, if we’re going to take this step to provide women with an opportunity to look at choices that would be best for her, and for her quality of life, that this be included as well.’” — Rhode Island State Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson In July 2022, Rhode Island passed into...

“The collaboration between surgeons and interventional radiologists has been at the center of many great advancements in trauma care.” —Jack Sava, MD, FACS, Director of Trauma/burns Program Director, General Surgery, MedStar Washington Hospital Center In the audio version of "IR in the ER: The role of interventional radiology on the trauma team"  ( IR Quarterly: Fall 2017 ), author Susan...

This recording features audio versions of July 2022  Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology ( JVIR ) abstracts: IN.PACT AV Access Randomized Trial: 12-Month Clinical Results Demonstrating the Sustained Treatment Effect of Drug-Coated Balloons Read Risk Factors for Hemorrhagic Adverse Events in Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage: A Prospective Multicenter Study Read Phase I Dose-E...

This recording features audio versions of July 2022  Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology ( JVIR ) abstracts: Polyethylene Glycol Drug-Eluting Embolic Microspheres Loaded with Doxorubicin for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Feasibility, Safety, and Pharmacokinetic Study, Malagari, et al.  READ  Impact of Chemoembolic Regimen on Immune Cell Recruitment and Immune Checkpoint M...

"We were no longer using iodinated contrast for nonemergent cases. We started using a lot of gadolinium, air, CO2, IVUS, Gastrografin, Cystografin—pretty much everything you could think of besides iodinated contrast. Because you need to save it for those emergent cases and the stroke. You know—stroke comes in, you can't just not have contrast to treat it." — Nikki Keefe, MD In May 2...

"The people that you interact with emergently—critical care doctors, the transplant doctors, the trauma doctors—they can speak for you. And I think sometimes using our allies to speak for us in places where our voices may not be heard as much can be very powerful." — Janice Newsome, MD, FSIR Host Barbara Nickel Hamilton, MD, speaks with interventional radiologist Janice Newsome, MD, FSIR...

This recording provides audio versions of featured abstracts from the June 2022  Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology ( JVIR ), the Society of Interventional Radiology's flagship publication. Abstracts read in this episode include: Outcomes of Stroke Thrombectomy Performed by Interventional Radiologists versus Neurointerventional Physicians, Sacks et al.  READ  Effects of the Cere...

"Interventional radiology practices are faced with instituting urgent changes in patient care to preserve contrast media for use in procedures for which alternative options are not available, or in emergent scenarios. In this communication, we propose an initial approach to case prioritization, as well as short-term strategies for management of existing supply to optimize utility and minimize...

This recording provides audio versions of featured abstracts from the May 2022  Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology ( JVIR ), the Society of Interventional Radiology's flagship publication. Abstracts read in this episode include: Prospective, Multicenter Clinical Study of the Covera Vascular Covered Stent in the Treatment of Stenosis at the Graft-Vein Anastomosis of Dysfunctional...

“The collaboration between surgeons and interventional radiologists has been at the center of many great advancements in trauma care.” —Jack Sava, MD, FACS, Director of Trauma/burns Program Director, General Surgery, MedStar Washington Hospital Center In the audio version of "IR in the ER: The role of interventional radiology on the trauma team"  ( IR Quarterly: Fall 2017 ), author Susan...

 If you think, "You know, I do what other people do but I do it a little bit better," you really should know whether that is indeed the case. So , do I really do my procedure with the best efficiency?  the lowest cost? the lowest radiation? the lowest contrast dose? That's the idea.  Be armed with data." — Matthew S. Johnson, MD, FSIR Guest host Jaimin Shah, MD, speaks with  Ra...

 To be a good volunteer and make a real difference, you need to do a lot of listening to what themes are around you and what people are struggling with — and not wait for someone to tell you what they want you to do. — Laura Findeiss, MD, FSIR, 2019 – 20 SIR president As part of the new "Owning Success" column in the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) IR Quarterly  magazine , gues...

Just as the specialty  is innovative, we foster a culture where we want to be innovative. And we want to be nimble, just as our members are nimble. And so when we look at the DNA of how we operate,  we kind of say, "This is how you practice ... This is the way that we want to operate, as well."    —Keith Hume, SIR Executive Director In a special year-end review, Warren Krackov, MD, FSIR,...

If you are in the device world and you have a whole bunch of engineers, if you don't give power to your physicians to help you design, what you'll end up with is a device that works for the engineers — but not for the physicians." — Laura King, Medical Founder and CEO, Elucent Medical As part of the new "Owning Success" column in SIR's IR Quarterly magazine, guest hos...

“The application of the interventional radiology skill sets to pain has created a new reservoir for alternatives to opioids. There are brand-new options that didn’t exist 10 years ago to treat patients with pain.” —J. David Prologo, MD, FSIR In the audio version of "Pain killers: IR can play a critical healing role for patients as the United States battles an opioid epidemic and pain crisis&q...

I think this is actually a model that can in fact be propagated across multiple types of centers, as long as that communication is there. —Riad Salem, MD, MBA, FSIR, Co-principal investigator, EPOCH Trial Warren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with interventional radiologist and EPOCH Trial co-principal investigator Riad Salem, MD, MBA, FSIR, about the results of the trial and the potential for Y-90 tre...

As with most any career path, interventional radiology provides more than its share of challenges and joys—and many years of hard but rewarding work. And as with any career path, the closer you get to the end of your career, the more natural it is to start wondering, “What comes next?” Surely retirement will bring its own challenges and joys, but how do you know when you’re ready to retire? Will y...

Data have demonstrated that individuals living in many parts of the country not only lack access to an IR but also lack access to any radiologist with image-guided procedural skills. These “IR deserts” highlight a major public health concern and a startling inequality in access to care. In the audio version of "Crossing the IR desert : The need for IRs in rural communities"  (Spring 2021...