CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Clinical Interventional Radiology ISVIR 2019; 03(02): 147-148
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1693647
Book Review
Indian Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology

Interventional Radiology for Medical Students

Hong Kuan Kok, Elizabeth Ryan, Hamed Asadi, Michael Lee. Interventional Radiology for Medical Students. Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland: Spinger International Publishing AG; 2018. Softcover: 183pp. ISBN: 978-3-319-53852-5
1   Department of Medical Education, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Australia
,
Mustafa Mian
1   Department of Medical Education, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Australia
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
12 July 2019 (online)

Interventional Radiology for Medical Students covers the principles of the growing specialty of interventional radiology (IR) in an easy-to-read format. This book provides a dot-point overview of a wide variety of topics in IR, including interventions for peripheral vascular disease of the lower limb, aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, and everything in between. It has earned a place on the bookshelf in teaching interventional radiology departments.

There are limited educational resources available in the relatively new subspecialty field of IR. As such, the work that goes on in IR clinics and angiography suites remains a mystery not only for medical students but for senior doctors too. This book meets the need for an introductory resource for anyone wanting to learn more about interventional radiology. Unlike other IR resources available, this text is written in simple language with no assumed IR knowledge, making it appropriately targeted to the medical student level.

The text provides an overview of the armamentarium used in the angiography suite, helping to quickly orientate any newcomers to the field. The remaining chapters cover a broad range of topics highlighting the diverse applications of IR, including: peripheral vascular disease, vascular malformations, venous access ports, venous thromboembolism, percutaneous renal and ureteric intervention, biliary and gastrointestinal intervention, image guided biopsies, musculoskeletal intervention, interventional oncology, and neurointervention.

The chapters are written in a consistent and palatable format including indications and contraindications for interventions, patient preparation, medication considerations, complications and postprocedure care. Readers can consolidate their knowledge in a clinical context as each chapter closes with a case study supplemented with appropriately annotated schematic diagrams, clinical photographs, and radiological images.

The patient preparation and postprocedure care sections will be of particular benefit to junior doctors who are charged with admitting and managing IR patients on the wards. However, the generalized overview approach used in this text means that it is likely of limited utility to radiology trainees and beyond.

Medical students typically have limited exposure to interventional radiology during their training and would benefit from more education in this growing field.[1] Interventional Radiology for Medical Students is an excellent resource for any medical student or junior doctor commencing a rotation in interventional radiology. It provides a useful overview of IR and its broad applications, helping to demystify this growing subspecialty.