What first drew you to interventional radiology? What did your training look like?
['Laura Brown', 'NMH Communications']
Kush R. Desai, MD, FSIR
Kush Desai, MD, radiology
Kush R. Desai, MD, FSIR: I trained at Northwestern University in Chicago for medical school, residency and fellowship. I was drawn to IR early in my medical school career when I did some radiology research. I always liked the high technology of imaging, but then I learned about the interventional radiologists who did incredible things that—from the perspective of an impressionable medical student—seemed impossible. I wondered, “How are they doing something so significant through a little pinhole?” That led me to consider whether this field was something I would like. What set me directly on the IR path after that was my fourth year when I did an IR elective. That’s when I knew what I wanted to do.
Are there certain areas of IR that you have particular clinical interest in?
KD: I’m interested in venous disease and venous thromboembolism, specifically deep venous disease. I do a lot of work with deep vein thrombosis, both acute and chronic, and inferior vena cava (IVC) filters—not only the retrieval and complex retrieval of IVC filters, but also the global management of these patients. Do they need IVC filters? Who should get them and who shouldn’t? How do we avoid a pulmonary embolism?
You are the second-ever special programs chair for the annual meeting. Did your predecessor, Gloria M. Salazar, MD, FSIR, provide you with any specific tips or guidance as you entered your role?
KD: Gloria and I are dear friends, and we’ve worked very closely together. She’s been enormously helpful in showing me the ropes and answering questions and helping me avoid any issues that she ran into, so I don’t run into them again. She’s been a constant sounding board.
What aspects of the meeting fall within special programs for SIR 2023? Is it specifically the section programming or does it include other aspects as well?
KD: Special programming really has to do with ensuring that the various groups within the IR community have tailored programming. So it’s ensuring there is content relevant to all practice levels and types, from nurse practitioners and physician assistants to medical students and residents, as well as those early in their careers. The role also ensures an opportunity for diversity of programming, such as with the Women in IR Section or the Underrepresented Minorities (URM) Section.
How do you assess the needs of such a diverse array of subcommunities?
KD: I rely on voices from those communities. I can’t know what they need, if they don’t tell me. I’ve reached out to leadership in those groups, asking, “What does your membership want to hear about? How do you plan on communicating those topics?” My job is then to ensure that they get the time for their programming, that it’s as streamlined and high impact as possible, and that we get as many people in the room as we can from that community. We also work to minimize overlap between these educational forums, so we don’t have two similar yet parallel programs, and ensure that each offer unique opportunities for their constituents.
What can you share about SIR 2023 special events related to the sections?
KD: There will be a combined Volunteer Appreciation Reception, with smaller offshoots. For example, the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR) will open the reception by briefly honoring those who have provided exceptional reviewer service. The Volunteer Appreciation Reception will then transition into the larger Opening Reception. We want to ensure that each of the groups have something a little more intimate that allows them to recognize members within their group and allow mingling.
After the meeting, you will rotate to the SIR 2024 scientific program vice chair role. Have you been involved in the scientific programming development for SIR 2023?
KD: We were all involved in ensuring that the various Clinical Specialty Councils and the disease state stakeholders had programming that covered the IR domain. That adds a challenge, because the breadth of what we do is just so vast. But we want to make sure that we’re covering it all or at least touching on it all and then diving in deeper as needed. So everyone on the committee was involved at reviewing and considering submitted sessions and putting together a program that reflects the very best of IR.
That said, the scientific sessions and abstracts were largely handled by the scientific chairs. But having served as an abstract reviewer for many years, I’m very familiar with the process. I look forward to the challenge of ensuring that the quality of science on display really reflects how cutting edge IR is and how serious we are about doing not only high-quality clinical care, but high-quality scientific investigation.
What would you say to members of the community who are still trying to decide whether to register for SIR 2023?
KD: I would say that the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting is the focal point of IR here in the United States. I look at it as an opportunity to do many different things: I want to see the latest and greatest. I want to see what others are doing in terms of scientific inquiry and what others are doing in terms of practice. I want to go to Extreme IR to see how people are handling challenging clinical situations. I want to see large data sets coming together that are going to inform how we take care of patients on a much grander scale. And then the best part for me is seeing friends. Reconnecting last year was a welcome return to form where I got to see people I hadn’t seen in a couple years.
For me, those are the highlights of coming to the annual meeting. For anyone who’s still on the fence, I would tell you that, especially for those of us in the northern latitudes, Phoenix is pretty awesome in March.
