Quarterly update

Published on September 2025

Interventional Radiology (IR) is undergoing a profound transformation - no longer defined solely by technical expertise, but increasingly by its clinical leadership, integration into emergency care, and commitment to patient safety and education. A growing body of literature from CVIR Endovascular reflects this shift and invites a broader conversation about what it truly means to be a full clinical specialty in the 21st century.

Pioneering articles like The Rocky Road to Recognizing IR as a Full Clinical Specialty and A Contemporary European Analysis of IR Practice underscore the structural and political challenges that IR faces across Europe. Simultaneously, the development of 24/7 IR services and models like Damage Control Interventional Radiology demonstrate how IR is becoming indispensable in trauma and acute care, filling the critical gap between non-operative management and surgery.

Yet clinical recognition is not enough. A parallel movement is addressing the cultural and organizational maturity of the specialty. From rethinking adverse outcomes - not as failures, but as inevitable clinical consequences - to institutionalizing governance strategies, structured debriefings, and learning from errors, IR is embracing the principles of continuous improvement. Articles focused on complication management, electronic documentation, and safety culture reflect this necessary evolution.

Education is another cornerstone. Integrating IR into undergraduate medical curricula through simulation-based learning, as well as promoting reflective practice through debriefing, prepares future interventionalists to be not just technicians, but thoughtful clinicians and leaders.

Taken together, these contributions point toward a unified vision of IR: clinically embedded, quality-driven, ethically grounded, and educationally forward. As the specialty navigates its rocky road, these milestones mark a path toward a safer, more sustainable, and more recognized role within modern medicine.

Quarterly Update 7: Lymphatics

Quarterly Update 6: Venous Thrombosis

Quarterly Update 5: Sustainability in IR

Quarterly Update 4: Complications in IR

Quarterly Update 3: Paediatric interventions

Quarterly Update 2: Urgent embolisation

Quarterly Update 1: Infertility

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