CIRSE Fellowship report: Mohamed El-Diasty
My name is Mohamed El-Diasty, and I am a diagnostic and interventional radiologist at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Our hospital is a leading tertiary center and one of the largest hospitals in the region. In our interventional department, we perform a wide range of vascular and non-vascular interventions. Through my training and clinical practice, I developed a great passion for interventional radiology and oncological imaging and how minimally invasive therapies can improve patient outcomes.
My primary goals from the fellowship were to observe the technical and clinical aspects of different IR procedures, get exposure to procedures not commonly performed in my hospital, and enhance my knowledge regarding multidisciplinary management of oncologic patients.
Fellowship experience
The Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy at the Medical University of Vienna is one of the largest departments in Europe with four clinical divisions. The division of cardiovascular and interventional radiology performs wide range of vascular interventions including aortic and peripheral arterial interventions as well as venous interventions. They perform a large volume of interventional oncology procedures such as chemoembolization, radioembolization, and image-guided ablations. The department has three angio suites and dedicated CT scanners for image-guided procedures and cardiovascular imaging.
On my first day at the hospital, Prof. Loewe introduced me to Prof. Florian Wolf and his team. I started observing and attending the different procedures and learning about the workflow organization.
In addition to the routine procedures, I was able to observe procedures that are not performed routinely in my institution. This includes TIPS, liver radioembolization, and genicular artery embolization. It was very interesting to watch EVAR procedures using custom fenestrated endografts, which were performed by Prof. Martin Funovic. Moreover, I had the opportunity to meet other CIRSE fellowship grant recipients from Italy and Australia. It was interesting to exchange our experience in interventional radiology.
Personal experience in Vienna, Austria
Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I have been there many times to attend the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), and I know the city well. It was amazing to have the chance to stay for one month in Vienna and enjoy the vibes of the city like the local Viennese.
Conclusion
I would like to thank the CIRSE foundation for this amazing Fellowship Grant Programme, and I would like to thank Prof. Loewe and Prof. Wolf for their guidance and warm welcome. I encourage all my interventional radiology colleagues to take this opportunity and apply for the program. My advice is to prepare early, get all documents ready, and enjoy the beauty of new experiences.