Samuel Armstrong, DO
Interventional Radiology Resident, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA; E-mail: samuel.q.armstrong@hitchcock.org
This textbook is intended to provide a sufficient level of resolution to acquaint both medical students and resident physicians with the field of interventional radiology (IR). It is divided into two main parts. The first part explores IR basics—including a very practical chapter complete with photographs and diagrams introducing common needles, catheters, wires, embolic agents, balloons, and stents employed by interventional radiologists. The second part deals with broad categories of diseases with the individual chapters focusing on specific disease entities and methods of treatment.
There is a Goldilocks amount of material for medical students and residents in this book. The information for understanding the fundamentals of and the routine services provided by IR is distilled into readable prose, high-quality radiologic images, and easy-to-understand diagrams making concepts accessible to novice trainees. Throughout the book there are convenient “How To” text boxes that contain concise descriptions of procedures in a stepwise fashion. Additionally, there are “Key Point” text boxes with high-yield facts for quick review. Moreover, one can be confident in the quality of knowledge gleaned from this book as many of the chapter authors are established leaders in the field of IR, for example, Dr. Alan H. Matsumoto coauthored the chapter on renal artery stenosis, Dr. Maxim Itkin coauthored the chapter on lymphatic interventions, and Dr. Michael D. Dake coauthored the chapter on aortic aneurysms—just to name a few. One thing missing are recommendations for further reading at the end of each chapter. Besides obligate references, it would be helpful to include a succinct list of go-to educational resources—such as other textbooks, articles, and educational websites—for medical students and residents to use. This would help cut down on the inefficiency of having to sift through all the available material and identify the best resources on one’s own.
The first editor listed, Dr. Nicole A. Keefe, is currently an IR chief resident at the University of Virginia, and her coeditors are faculty in the Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology in the Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging at the University of Virginia. They have compiled an educational resource that fills a void I have felt, namely, an IR textbook catering to medical students and residents. I am grateful for their contribution to IR pedagogy and will continue to use this book during my training.
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