UPDATES FROM THE VASCULAR SOCIETIES
British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR)
www.bsir.org | @BSIR_News
The BSIR Executive Officers are receiving valuable input in to the BSIR long term strategy through the regional roadshow which has taken place in the past few months, and which will continue in to next year. These sessions at regional meetings have been designed to engage the membership in the strategy content and gather their feedback and ideas. The strategy can be found here https://www.bsir.org/society/our-strategy/
The BSIR Paediatrics UK Annual Meeting took place on Monday 19th May in Birmingham. A successful and well attended meeting, highlights included hot topics such as hepatobiliary intervention, interventional oncology and vascular access. For the first time, the 2025 meeting included a dedicated session for allied health professionals, focussed on the challenges and regards of working in PIR as a nurse or radiographer.
The BSIR Interventional Oncology UK meeting took place on 19th-20th June at the Leonardo Tower Bridge in London. With record number of attendees for this event (over 180 onsite), the programme for IOUK focussed on cutting-edge treatments for Liver, Lung, Renal, Bone, and Soft Tissue cancers, and included a guest lecture from Dr David Breen celebrating 10 years of IOUK. Trainee focussed sessions ran in parallel to the main programme across both days.
IOUK was preceded on 18th June by the launch of Interventional Oncology Network for Research and Innovation Collaboration (IONIC-UK) sponsored by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR), and convened by Professor Tze Wah. This workshop focused on research and innovation in interventional oncology (IO), understanding research methodology in IO clinical trials, building a clinical infrastructure around IO and why Patient and Public Involvement, Engagement and Participation (PPIEP) and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) are important in research and innovation.
The first BSIR Registrar Study Day took place virtually on 25th June, attracting over 50 attendees online. This event focussed on mastering the MDT with practical tips and insights to support procedural planning and clinical decision-making. Programme highlights included aortic interventions, embolisation, PAD and venous access techniques, dialysis fistula interventions, and career development sessions focussed on fellowships and maximising training opportunities.
Registration is open for BSIR 2025 in Liverpool on 11th-13th November. Join us to explore the latest innovations and protocols in IR designed to mitigate risks and ensure the highest standards of care for patients. Early Bird Fees are available until 11th September 2025. BSIR Members can access discounted registration. Applications for Educational Grants, Essay Scholarships and Case Study Awards are now closed. An overview of the programme can be found at: www.bsirmeeting.org.
You can find out more about upcoming BSIR events and activities on the BSIR website www.bsir.org
Rouleaux Club
www.Rouleauxclub.com | @RouleauxClub
Our BSET and National Vascular Training Day reps helped organise another fantastic course, held at Tortworth Court Hotel in June. The Joint Rouleaux and BSIRT session the following day was insightful and well received, covering the topics of AI in endovascular interventions and collaborative working between vascular surgery and interventional radiology.
Turning our attention to the run up to VSASM, we have received a good number of high quality, fascinating video abstracts for the MDT session. We currently have the difficult but enjoyable task of scoring these, hopefully curating an interesting session for surgeons of every stage, from aspiring to experienced.
Submissions for the second year of the Averil Mansfield prize surpassed the strong numbers we received last year; 48 submissions were received, nominating 36 candidates. We will be interviewing the top four nominees, along with VS representation, in the coming days.
Planning, support and sponsorship etc is underway for the Introduction to Vascular Surgery Course, an annual highlight, held on the Wednesday of VS ASM.
We have selected our three essay titles for the annual essay competition for both medical students and resident doctors (pre SPR level) and submissions are now open. The winner from each category has their essay published in JVSGBI and entrants receive free entry to the above course.
Dates for the Rouleaux Club and RCSEd Vascular Surgery Specialty Board’s course “So you think you want to be a vascular surgeon?” have been announced-October 25th in Birmingham and April 25th 2026 in Edinburgh.
Please do encourage any junior members of your team to take advantage of the range of opportunities above.
Lauren Shelmerdine
President
Vascular Anaesthesia Society of Great Britain & Ireland (VASGBI)
www.vasgbi.com | @vasgbi
The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network (VERN)
www.vascular-research.net | @VascResearchNet
VERN have been busy over the summer in supporting the closing stages of the BLAST and ARMIES studies. The BLAST study, coordinated by committee member Paris Cai, examines blood loss, anaemia, and haemostasis in vascular surgery and is in the final stages of data validation before analysis may begin. Similarly, committee member Tamer El-Sayed leads on ARMIES in the data validation phase – the results of this study on acute upper limb ischaemia will be welcomed with open arms.
SIMBA-T was launched earlier this year and has seen great success in site recruitment. The study explores surgical site infection and in trans-metatarsal amputations, following on from the SIMBA study which focussed on major lower limb amputations. Thank you to all the collaborators who are contributing to this study.
Earlier in the year, VERN welcomed a new committee member to fulfil the role of Allied Health Professional representative. We are excited to bring you new projects that focus on collaboration between professional groups in the near future.
We are grateful to all who have contributed to previous projects and are continuing to support collaborative research within vascular surgery - thank you! We look forward to meeting everyone again at the Vascular Societies’ Annual Scientific Meeting this year in Hull. For updates, please visit the website (www.vascular-research.net) and follow us on X (@VascResearchNet) – please keep an eye out for details concerning this year’s Dragon’s Den competition which will be announced soon!!
Brenig Gwilym
VERN President
Article DOI:
Journal Reference:
J.Vasc.Soc.G.B.Irel. 2025;4(4):242-243
Publication date:
August 28, 2025
