The Kinked Wire

The idea that we start a little earlier in getting our students acclimated to interventional radiology is going to be so important. And it already has made a difference—I think now, students have a much clearer sense of what it is, at a much earlier stage, than maybe I did. I think it makes a big difference in terms of getting more involvement in our profession.—Derek  L. West, MD, MSWarren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with interventional radiologist Derek L. West, MD, MS, about the importance of addressing health care disparities, educating medical students on the promise of interventional radiology, and his ongoing research in cancer treatment.Note: This episode was recorded on  Feb. 7, 2021.SIR thanks BD for its support of this episode.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 guess my take-home point is that by no means is staffing for a stroke program a small undertaking, so it really is important to have the support from the hospital as well as other medical specialties when developing the interventional stroke program ... which we’re very fortunate we have. —Eric  A. Wang, MD, FSIRWarren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with interventional radiologist Eric A. Wang, MD, FSIR, about how he got involved in ischemic stroke care, the specialized training other IRs need to do the same, and how the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) supports the IR community in this important effort. Note: This episode was recorded on  Jan. 31, 2021.Related resources:SIR training guidelines Stroke roundtable: Opportunities and challenges for IRs performing endovascular thrombectomies for strokeSIR 2019 on-demand stroke course 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

At the very beginning of the pandemic, there was a big outpouring of support through social media outlets and other avenues online between training programs throughout the country. So it was kind of almost a national level of collaboration for continuing access to training in a way.  It will be good to see how we continue to use it in the coming year.   —Jason Fisher, MDIn a special year-end review, Warren Krackov, MD, FSIR, and the Kinked Wire team (Editor Jaimin Shah, MD; Production Manager Jason Fisher, MD; and SIR Director of Publications Brian Haefs) discuss the top stories impacting interventional radiology in 2020:Impact of the COVID-19 pandemicRacial inequity and health care disparitiesWellness and burnoutVirtual SIR 2020 Annual Scientific MeetingAnd moreThe team concludes with a look ahead to what may come in 2021.Note: This episode was recorded on Dec. 24, 2020.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 follow good practices—you minimize the patient dose, you wear your protective clothing, you use the pull-down shields and you put the pull-down shields as close to the patient as you can—your exposures are going to be very low.  —Joseph Ring, DOIn recognition of Nov. 8, the International Day of Radiology, Warren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with radiation safety officer Joseph Ring, DO, about radiation safety in interventional radiology, measures IRs should be taking to protect themselves, and what medical students considering a career in interventional radiology should keep in mind.Note: This episode was recorded on Oct. 20, 2020.SIR thanks Boston Scientific for its support of this episode.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

In our specialty, the stereotypes are ... you have to be a certain height. So I hear from women trainees and aspiring interventionalists that, "You know, you're too small ... You can't reach things." It's not true!—Barbara Nickel Hamilton, MDWarren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with interventional radiologist Barbara Nickel Hamilton, MD, about gender disparities in IR, the role the SIR Women in IR Section has played in addressing gender bias, and about her new book, Save Lives, Enjoy Your Own. Learn more about Dr. Nickel Hamilton's book or order a copy at her blog, tiredsuperheroine.com.Note: This episode was recorded on Sept. 29, 2020.SIR thanks BD for its support of this episode.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

You see that it's appalling. What can you do, and what can we do as privileged human beings, to denounce this? To say that it's wrong? To not stand for it? To say, "You know what? That's not right and this is what I'm going to do about it."—Paul J. "P.J." Rochon, MD, FSIRWarren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with interventional radiologist Paul J. "P.J." Rochon, MD, FSIR, about health care disparities, our own implicit bias, the minority tax and the importance of taking a stand against racism. Read Dr. Rochon's IR Quarterly article on health care disparities.Note: This episode was recorded on Aug. 20, 2020.SIR thanks Sirtex for its support of this episode.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

"One of the big organizations that are groups of people/stakeholders that really change things, in terms of education for sure, are medical students, themselves .” —Jeanne M. Laberge, MD, FSIRWarren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with interventional radiologist Jeanne M. Laberge, MD, FSIR, about her role in the development of the IR Residency, the power of IRs-in-training to impact their future, and the pros and cons of retirement from interventional radiology practice.  Learn more about SIR's Residency Essentials curriculum program.Note: This episode was recorded on Aug. 18, 2020.SIR thanks Boston Scientific for its support of this episode.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 wanted to practice clinically oriented IR. I thought, “If I go to a group and say that we should practice IR, then my group is going to say yes—you should go for it!” And as many people know, that’s not the way the world works.” —Raj Pyne, MD, FSIRWarren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with interventional radiologist Raj Pyne, MD, FSIR, about the development of IR services in his Rochester, New York, practice, leadership roles he's held for the Society of Interventional Radiology, and advice he gives today's interventional radiology residents.  Note: This episode was recorded on July 20, 2020.SIR thanks BD for its support of this episode.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 media portrayed scenes of just terror, frankly, particularly at Elmhurst Hospital. You see these lines of people that are waiting outside with so much anxiety and you know where that place is, you’ve driven past, you’ve seen with your own eyes that this is in your backyard. Then it starts hitting very close to home. —Akhilesh K. Sista, MD, FSIRWarren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with Akhilesh K. Sista, MD, FSIR, an interventional radiologist in New York, about the COVID-19 impact on his city and practice, changes in response since the early peak, and thrombosis trends in these patients.Find IR resources for COVID-19 planning, staffing, personal protective equipment and more at the SIR website, sirweb.org.Listen to more interventional radiologist perspectives on COVID-19:June 9: Atlanta, Ga. (Janice Newsome, MD, FSIR)May 20: Miami, Fla. (Costantino S. Peña, MD, FSIR)May 8: Chicago, Ill. (George Behrens, MD)April 29: Palo Alto, Calif. (Raj Shah, MD)April 20: Seattle, Wash. (R. Torrance Andrews, MD, FSIR)Note: This episode was recorded on July 7, 2020.  SIR thanks BD for its support of this episode.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

You don’t just put a filter in and forget about it—but that’s what used to happen. And when you put a filter in, it’s like anything else. We are clinical physicians in IR and vascular surgery, and when we put these filters in your patient, you need to follow them. That means clinical follow-up, and it may mean imaging follow-up. —Matthew S. Johnson, MD, FSIRWarren Krackov, MD, FSIR, speaks with interventional radiologist Matthew S. Johnson, MD, FSIR, about the evolution of IVC filters, the upcoming IVC filter clinical practice guidelines, and the status of the FDA-requested PRESERVE Study. Read the IVC filter clinical practice guidelines.Note: This episode was recorded on June 1, 2020.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