The SIR annual meeting returned to an in-person format with a bang on Saturday, June 11, with “Extreme IR: Back to Life, Live.”
Extreme IR, a favorite session among attendees, provides a platform for members to present real-life cases that particularly challenged them and pushed the boundaries of what is considered possible in IR. Accompanied by trademark banter, jokes and occasional memes, the presentations also offer anecdotal learning opportunities on complications, case selection and “bail-out methods.”
The session was moderated by Extreme IR regulars Ziv J Haskal, MD, FSIR, and Michael D. Dake, MD, FSIR, who were joined by a rotating panel of guest moderators.
“We have 35 cases that have been collected over 3 years,” said Dr. Dake at the start of the session. “So, it’s going to be good.”
Over the course of 5 hours, 35 IRs shared their cases—from Anne Marie Cahill, MD, FSIR, who shared a case involving a life-threatening oral hemorrhage, to Thomas Casciani, MD, who told the audience about a patient who the referring surgeon thought was “mostly dead.” After successfully placing stents, Dr. Casciani was told, “Congratulations on reperfusing a dead body.”
Dr. Haskal has described the session as an “eye-breaking afternoon of extremity”—an accurate description, given how many presentations left audience members making audible interjections of dismay and amazement. And though the session promised stories of great successes and epic failures, most presentations detailed tenacious treatment attempts, calculated risks and skillful victories over the odds.
“The thing to remember in extreme cases is if you do things and make it look easy, people think it’s an easy case,” Dr. Dake said during the panel, following a presentation by Theresa Caridi, MD, FSIR, on retrieving a difficult stent. “People confuse easy with mastery.”
According to Dr. Haskal, the cases were curated via open calls on social media and SIR Connect, resulting in a mixed presenter group. “This successful approach has allowed us to feature young, first-time presenters, including medical students and international attendees, for a great, diverse group.”
If you couldn’t join "Extreme IR Live," be sure to find it on SIR 2022 On-demand after the meeting to hear presentations from an incredible array of speakers.
