Jafar Golzarian, SIR 2015’s programme chair, discusses some of the most exciting sessions from the Society of Interventional Radiology’s (SIR’s) upcoming Annual Scientific Meeting (28 February–5 March 2015, Atlanta, USA) for Interventional News.
For SIR 2015, the Society of Interventional Radiology has more than 200 sessions organised into 16 clinical pathways, including peripheral arterial disease, oncology, venous, gastrointestinal, neurovascular, renal insufficiency, embolization, women’s issues and practice development – enabling attendees to customise their ideal educational experience.
We also sought to offer a diversity of learning environments. Revamped workshops include new “In-the-clinic,” “In-the-lab” and hands-on “Learning Labs,” while deep exploration of new developments and research in interventional radiology are presented as “In-the-classroom sessions.” Under the leadership of SIR 2015 workshop programme chair J Fritz Angle, all of these new sessions emphasise hands-on, interactive learning with plenty of dialogue between attendees, faculty and presenters. Our goal is for all attendees—interventional radiologists, trainees and clinical associates alike—to return home with new tools, techniques and skills to help grow and strengthen clinical practices, and to expand, reach and assist with even the most challenging cases. While didactic learning will always have a place, at SIR we believe that hands-on training and learning are the best way to achieve this.
Our general sessions cross service lines and feature the specialty’s top thought leaders on major, often controversial, issues in interventional radiology. A hot topic that is part of this year’s lineup is “Global perspectives in interventional radiology” (with co-moderators Susan E Sedory Holzer; Brian Stainken, and James B Spies)” which looks at the paradox of globalisation – that our world becomes smaller as our reach grows. Yet, as we become more adept at discovering and adopting the next minimally-invasive image-guided treatment, are we also ensuring that our global specialty is staying ahead of marketplace dynamics? How is interventional radiology thriving in countries whose healthcare systems measure quality and outcomes as a way to control costs? Will we have enough highly-qualified interventional radiologists so all patients can receive the treatments they need, locally and at reasonable cost? What are we doing to ensure that interventional radiology attracts the best and brightest physicians, regardless of gender? These are some of the questions that will be examined.
Another timely general session is “Innovation, macroeconomics, and the future of minimally invasive therapies.” The hallmark of interventional radiology’s success has been its diversified nature and emphasis on innovative therapies. Given the rapid changes in the healthcare ecosystem marked by reduced utilisation of specialty services and downward pressure on reimbursement, both of these characteristics can be substantially impacted. This creates some unique opportunities for interventional radiologist as well as potential threats to its existing practice model. This is a panel discussion among thought leaders and all stakeholders focusing on the impact of these change and will analyse the opportunities they create. The session is coordinated by Mahmood Razavi.
More on the emerging data
Our scientific sessions are the heart of SIR 2015, featuring moderated, peer-reviewed abstracts presentations grouped into related categories. SIR’s reviewers, under direction of SIR 2015 scientific programme chair Robert J Lewandowski, have organised a comprehensive programme with more than 530 presentations and posters, representing 17 countries.
Attendees should be aware of the following distinguished abstracts:
- Medium- and long-term outcome of prostatic arteries embolization, for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia: results in 460 cases
- Embolization of uterine arteriovenous malformations: an 11-year single-centre experience
- Assessment of safety of a single vessel runoff “peroneal artery access” during the subintimal arterial flossing with antegrade-retrograde intervention (safari) in critical limb ischaemia
- Y90 radioembolization of hepatic metastases of colorectal cancer using glass microspheres: survival and safety outcomes from a multicentre review of 531 patients
- Selective hypoxia-activated intraarterial therapy in a rabbit liver tumour model
- Outpatient interventional radiology vein practice: referral patterns and downstream effects
- National trends and outcomes of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt creation
- The utility of modified thromboelastography with platelet mapping and functional fibrinogen to predict bleeding during catheter-directed thrombolysis: a pilot study
Far more than simply core interventional radiology, diverse topics cover a wide range of what is important to interventional radiologists and their patients. For example:
- IO: Colorectal carcinoma: A 360-degree perspective
- PAD: Renal denervation: New positive evidence and future developments
- Venous: Chronic venous occlusions: Techniques through case examples
- Embolization: Trauma: A global perspective
- Neurointerventions: Stroke management
The strength of SIR’s Annual Scientific Meeting has always been our comprehensive coverage of all facets of interventional radiology. Interventional radiology is a multidimensional specialty: the breadth of tough medical problems that we address, the range of environments in which we practice and the array of individuals with whom we collaborate to deliver quality patient care are consistently reflected in our educational programme. To learn more and register, please visit http://sirmeeting.org.
