The Kinked Wire

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 DirectorIn a special year-end review, Warren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with SIR Executive Director Keith Hume and SIR Direction of Publications Brian Haefs about the top stories impacting interventional radiology in 2021 and what 2022 may bring. Plus, we share excerpts from the three most downloaded IR Quarterly articles of the year: TACE and immunotherapy for intermediate-stage HCCThe macro effects of microaggressionsGenicular artery embolization: The future standard of care for inflammatory conditionsNote: This episode was recorded on Jan. 13, 2022.Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology. Support the show

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 host Nishita Kothary, MD, FSIR, speaks with a panel of interventional radiologists involved with clinical trials, industry representatives and others on the value of and keys to building a strong relationship with industry. Panelists include five individuals involved with IR industry:Nadine Abi-Jaoudeh, MD, FSIRJames F. Benenati, MD, FSIR, CMO of Penumbra Laura G. King, founder and CEO of Elucent Medical, Inc. Fred T. Lee Jr., MD, founder of Elucent Medical, Inc. Sarah B. White, MD, MS, FSIR Read the related article.Note: This episode was recorded on  Dec. 2, 2021.Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology. Support the show

“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, FSIRIn 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"  (IR Quarterly: Winter 2019), author Melanie Padgett Powers describes the role IRs can play for patients in the opioid epidemic.Read the article.Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology. Support the show

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 TrialWarren 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 treatment with TheraSpheres in patients with colorectal cancer metastases. NOTE: EPOCH, an IDE pivotal trial, was a 428-patient, open-label, international, multicenter, phase 3 trial. EPOCH evaluated the safety and efficacy of TheraSphere Y-90 Glass Microspheres combined with second-line therapy (oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based chemotherapy) in patients with mCRC of the liver. EPOCH met both primary endpoints of progression free survival and hepatic progression free survival. Learn more from Boston Scientific.This episode was recorded on  Dec. 7, 2021.Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology.Support the show

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 you be financially comfortable in retirement? Will you be bored? In the audio version of "Exit strategy : Career-long retirement planning for the interventional radiologist"  (IR Quarterly: Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 ), authors Aubrey Palestrant, MD, FSIR, and Curtis W. Bakal, MD, MPH, FSIR, discuss how interventional radiologists should plan for retirement ... from the start of their career to its close. Read Part 1 of the article on retirement planning for the early-career IR.Read Part 2 of the article on retirement planning for the established IR. Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology. Support the show

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 IR Quarterly, pp. 12-14), author Laura Findeiss, MD, FSIR, discusses why there's a lack of interventional radiologists in rural communities and how this disparity can be resolved.Read the article.Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology. Support the show

The impact of diversity on finances makes perfect sense when you think of the workforce like a toolbox: Every tool has a purpose and design that makes it optimal for certain jobs. If your toolbox is full of only Phillip’s head screwdrivers, you’ll never be able to work with a flat head screw ... Because we currently have a racially homogeneous workforce, we have one that doesn’t employ the full set of skills, experiences and perspectives needed for a full toolbox.In the audio version of "The business case for diversity in IR"  (Fall 2021 IR Quarterly, pp. 16-17), authors Keith M. Horton, MD, FSIR, and Derek L. West, MD, MS,  explain why diversity in your practice is not only a moral  decision, but a financial one that will strengthen your interventional radiology  practice's bottom line.Read the article (including references and recommended reading).Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology. Support the show

I try to present myself as mild-mannered, quiet and very nice, which wins a lot of battles, but deep inside there’s this fierce sense of “right.” And if there was something I needed to fight for—for the rights of patients or for members—I would go to the mat for them. —Katharine L. Krol, MD, FSIR As part of the new "Owning Success" column in SIR's IR Quarterly magazine, guest host Nishita Kothary, MD, FSIR, speaks with a panel of four past SIR Gold Medalists—Anne C. Roberts, MD, FSIR; Katharine L. Krol, MD, FSIR; Jeanne M. Laberge, MD, FSIR; and John  A. Kaufman, MD, FSIR—about what inspires them, obstacles they've overcome and more.Read the related article.Note: This episode was recorded on  Oct. 18, 2021.Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology. Support the show

With ever-evolving technologies, cancer treatments will almost certainly become more effective and less invasive in the future. A new procedure that will likely play an important role in the future of interventional oncology is histotripsy. While the procedure could be adopted by a variety of specialties, we believe that interventional oncologists are well-positioned and best equipped to lead the introduction and clinical translation of this new technology.In the audio version of "Breaking down histotripsy: Inside a new ablation modality with cancer applications"  (Fall 2021 IR Quarterly, pp. 12-14), authors Fred T. Lee, MD, Timothy J. Ziemlewicz, MD, Zhen Xu, PhD, and Paul Laeseke MD, PhD, describe the potential for histotripsy in cancer treatment and the critical role interventional oncologists will play. Read the article. Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology. Support the show

With an increasing number of geriatric patients seeking IR services, identification of patients at higher risk for complications will allow for improved pre-procedural counseling and patient selection, as well as targeted application of resources to improve the perioperative risk profile for select patients.In the audio version of "Patient frailty and IR: The case for frailty as a geriatric diagnostic tool" (Fall 2021 IR Quarterly, pp. 20-22), authors Rana Rabei, MD, MHA, and Maureen P. Kohi, MD, FSIR, describe the pathophysiology of patient frailty, how frailty can be measured, and the potential role of frailty in guiding treatment decisions within interventional radiology.Read the article.Contact us with your ideas and questions, or read more about about interventional radiology in IR Quarterly magazine or SIR's Patient Center.(c) Society of Interventional Radiology. Support the show