Society of Interventional Radiology Showcases High-quality, Efficient Medical Treatments

Interventional Radiologists Revolutionize Modern Medicine: Latest Minimally Invasive Treatments Featured at SIR's 36th Annual Scientific Meeting March 26–31 in Chicago, Ill.

FAIRFAX, Va., March 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Society of Interventional Radiology will feature minimally invasive scientific advances and new discoveries in treating a host of diseases at its 36th Annual Scientific Meeting March 26–31 at McCormick Place (West) in Chicago, Ill. The theme of the meeting is "IR Rising: Leading Image-guided Medicine," chosen to reflect interventional radiology's continued revolutionizing of modern medicine.

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More than 5,000 physicians, scientists and allied health professionals are expected to attend this premier interventional radiology event. Central to the meeting's theme of "IR Rising" will be the presentation of researched data on the impact of high-quality, more efficient medical treatments in advancing patient care. Nearly 400 scientific presentations and posters covering the latest trends in interventional radiology research and approximately 150 technical exhibits and product demonstrations will be showcased during the Annual Scientific Meeting.

Several hot topic sessions are detailed below.

March 27: Multidisciplinary Treatment of Liver Metastases will focus on various treatment options of colorectal and other liver metastases, examining embolic and ablative therapies.

March 28: A categorical course will explore chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in individuals with multiple sclerosis. This session includes presenters Paolo Zamboni, M.D., an Italian doctor who published the study suggesting that a blockage in the veins that drain blood from the brain and spinal cord and return it to the heart (CCSVI) might contribute to MS and its symptoms; Sandy McDonald, M.D., a cardiovascular surgeon from Barrie, Ontario, Canada; Gary P. Siskin, M.D., FSIR, an interventional radiologist and chair of the radiology department at Albany Medical Center, Albany, N.Y.; E. Mark Haacke, Ph.D., director of the MRI Institute for Biomedical Research and director of Harper University Hospital Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility, both in Detroit, Mich.; and Michael Dake, M.D., an interventional radiologist and Thelma and Henry Doelger Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif. Frontiers in Interventional Oncology will explore current and future clinical practice, imaging methods and targeted treatments with today's leading researchers, including Jeff H. Geschwind, M.D., FSIR, professor of radiology, surgery and oncology and director of vascular and interventional radiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md.; William S. Rilling, M.D., FSIR, professor of radiology and surgery and director, vascular and interventional radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Riccardo Lencioni, M.D., associate professor of radiology at the University of Pisa in Italy and director of the division of diagnostic imaging and intervention at Pisa University Hospital; and Riad Salem, M.D., MBA, FSIR, professor of radiology, medicine and surgery, and director, interventional oncology, division of interventional radiology, department of radiology at Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill.

March 29: Jeanne M. LaBerge, M.D., FSIR, a clinician researcher and professor for more than 20 years at the University of California–San Francisco, will address "Data Integration in IR — A Pressing Challenge for Our Time" as the 2011 Dr. Charles T. Dotter lecturer. This lecture honor, supported by SIR Foundation, acknowledges an interventional radiologist's extraordinary contributions to the field, dedicated service to SIR and distinguished career achievements in interventional radiology. Interventional radiology pioneers Andrew B. Crummy, M.D., FSIR, and Gordon K. McLean, M.D., FSIR — along with Peter B. Lauer, CAE, past executive director of SIR (posthumous) — will each be awarded SIR's Gold Medal, an honor given to those who have helped ensure the future of interventional radiology by advancing the quality of medicine and patient care. Nanotechnology Applications for Interventional Oncology will examine why and how nanotechnology will play a role in the future of interventional radiology, and High-quality, More Efficient Care — Rising Opportunities for IR will review the current state and potential future impact of quality improvement in national health care reform and interventional radiology.

March 30: Controversies of the past year will be debated in The (Sterile) Gloves Are Off: use of drug-eluting beads vs. chemoembolization to treat regional hepatic tumors; CCSVI: evidence and clinical benefits; and indications for nonretrievable filters. Interventional Oncology — Under the Microscope will explore how advances in molecular and cellular biology are driving fundamental changes in the understanding and practice of oncology.

Speakers include John Combes, M.D., president, Center for Healthcare Governance/American Hospital Association, "Health Care Reform — One Year Later, What Do We Know?"; Mark A. Crafton, executive director, the Joint Commission, "Organizational Culture and Effective Management: Lessons From High-performing Hospitals"; and William Pritchard, M.D., Ph.D., medical officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Tools of the Trade" workshop.

Other sessions will cover the current and future role of interventional radiology in the management of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, especially relevant since March is DVT Awareness Month.

To register for the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting, visit www.SIRmeeting.org.

For more information about the Society of Interventional Radiology and its 36th Annual Scientific Meeting, visit online at www.SIRweb.org or www.SIRmeeting.org.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology

Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine. Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.

Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.

The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its 36th Annual Scientific Meeting March 26–31 at McCormick Place (West Building) in Chicago, Ill. The theme of the meeting is "IR Rising: Leading Image-guided Medicine," chosen to reflect interventional radiology's continued revolutionizing of modern medicine.

SOURCE Society of Interventional Radiology