Dear Colleagues,

September 2018 saw us returning to a tried and tested venue – the Lisbon Congress Centre in sunny Portugal. This was our fourth congress in this compact and cleverly appointed venue, and proved once again to be a huge hit with exhibitors and delegates alike: 6,725 attendees joined us from 84 countries. Alongside a rich and varied scientific programme, delegates were free to explore around 6,000m2 of exhibition space and Learning Centres.

While CIRSE continues to expand and enhance its popular Live and On Demand service, nothing can beat the personal experience: the CIRSE Annual Congress offers those attending a wealth of hands-on and face-to-face experiences that cannot be had elsewhere, and the value that physicians place on these is reflected in the strong registration numbers that we see each year.

Our Focus for 2019

The educational programme for 2019 will focus on delivering the most up-to-date information on both novel and established minimally invasive therapies. The faculty will be comprised of leading experts from IR and beyond, giving delegates balanced and insightful commentary on the most pressing medical issues. Eight clinical tracks will help attendees to select the sessions most directly relevant to their daily practice, and each track is comprised of a variety of innovative session types.

Endovascular interventions remain the cornerstone of our meeting, with sessions stratified into vascular, venous and aortic procedures. Once again, the aortic programme will be hosted as the IDEAS symposium, a successful congress-within-a-congress that encourages non-IR aortic experts to learn and debate alongside their IR colleagues.

The comprehensive vascular track will feature some particular highlights in 2019, notably three Expert Round Tables that will delve into unsolved questions in below-the-knee, SFA and aorto-iliac stenosis, respectively. Meanwhile, the venous programme will offer an excitingly diverse range of sessions, including a Clinical Evaluation Course entitled “ilio-femoral venous stenting masterclass” and a Hot Topic Symposium on the implications of the ATTRACT trial for DVT management.

First@CIRSE was newly introduced at this year’s meeting to provide a platform for the release of the latest evidence from trials and studies on peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Off the back of its success, CIRSE 2019 will again feature First@CIRSE as well as a special focus on PAD on the Saturday of the conference.

Interventional oncology, perhaps the fastest-growing branch of IR, will be prominently featured, with a multitude of sessions examining immunotherapy, colorectal metastases of the liver and lung, renal cell carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and, naturally, HCC, with a Focus Session presenting the top 20 most important studies on HCC. A Hot Topic Symposium will ask if renal tumour ablation is ready for prime time.

Embolotherapy, another rapidly evolving field, will also be given ample coverage, investigating trauma, benign prostate hyperplasia, and fibroids and adenomyosis, with Case-Based Discussions on IR in gynaecological emergencies and AVMs and lymphatics, respectively.

A highlight of the neurointerventions track will be the Expert Round Table on controversies in endovascular thrombectomy, which will complement the Fundamental Courses, Focus Sessions, Clinical Evaluation Courses and Video Learning Sessions dedicated to stroke therapy. Those wishing to refine their knowledge of non-vascular interventions can choose from a range of events, not least a Case-Based Discussion on IR salvage for abdominal surgical disasters, and an Expert Round Table showing that vertebral augmentation is alive and kicking.

Pain management won’t just be addressed in the non-vascular track, however: CIRSE’s clinical management track will be bringing delegates up to speed on the best anaesthesia options, as well as looking at building an evidence base, and artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics in IR.

Get ready for Barcelona!