Pillar 04
Structured exposure to vascular and emergency IR decision-making, from haemorrhage and embolisation pathways — general principles through to specific embolisation subtypes — to venous, dialysis and IVC-filter access concepts.
Clinical topics in this pillar are educational categories only and require consultant review before publication. WIRS authors no procedural instruction.
Where to start — the shared baseline for students, interns and junior MOs.
Haemorrhage pathways
How emergency IR fits into acute care — the idea of a haemorrhage pathway, the multidisciplinary referral chain, and where imaging localises a problem. Systems-level, non-procedural.
Why it matters. Registrars first meet emergency IR through referrals. Understanding the pathway improves communication and timely care.
Learning objectives
Working knowledge expected across the FC Rad Diag(SA) registrar years.
Embolisation
Embolisation as an educational concept — what it aims to achieve and the broad categories of embolic agents — without any procedural technique.
Why it matters. Embolisation recurs across trauma, oncology and haemorrhage. A conceptual grounding helps registrars follow cases and evidence before meeting any specific subtype.
Learning objectives
Discuss with WIRS
Journal club comparing embolic-agent choice across trauma, oncology and obstetric cases.
Related topics
Venous access
An orientation to central venous access categories — PICCs, ports and tunnelled lines — as clinical concepts, and how image guidance improves safety and first-pass success.
Why it matters. Central venous access is extremely high-volume and touches almost every hospital department; understanding the categories helps registrars triage and communicate referrals.
Learning objectives
Discuss with WIRS
Workshop-style discussion of access-device selection across common referral scenarios.
Related topics
Dialysis access
An orientation to dialysis-access work — arteriovenous fistulas and grafts, and the concept of assessing and maintaining access — at a conceptual level.
Why it matters. Access work is high-volume and directly relevant to South African public-sector practice, where dialysis-access referrals are frequent.
Learning objectives
Related topics
Deeper, often observational exposure for senior registrars and consultants developing an IR interest.
Venous access
An orientation to inferior vena cava filters — the clinical concept of mechanical thromboembolism prevention, and the importance of a retrieval pathway once placed.
Why it matters. Filter placement without a retrieval plan is a recognised source of long-term harm; understanding the full pathway, not just insertion, is the safer educational frame.
Learning objectives
Embolisation
An orientation to bronchial artery embolisation for haemoptysis — the clinical presentation, the role of CT angiography in localisation, and the multidisciplinary respiratory pathway.
Why it matters. Massive haemoptysis is a time-critical emergency; recognising the pathway to embolisation supports faster, safer escalation.
Learning objectives
Related topics
Embolisation
An orientation to embolisation for gastrointestinal and gastroduodenal-artery haemorrhage — how endoscopy and IR combine in an acute-bleed pathway.
Why it matters. GI bleeding is common and frequently multidisciplinary; understanding when endoscopic control fails and IR is escalated is core systems knowledge.
Learning objectives
Related topics
Embolisation
An orientation to pelvic and obstetric embolisation — post-partum haemorrhage and pelvic trauma as clinical contexts — and the time-critical, multidisciplinary obstetric-radiology pathway.
Why it matters. Post-partum haemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal morbidity; understanding the escalation pathway to IR is directly relevant to South African maternal-care priorities.
Learning objectives
Related topics
Every pillar connects to the training and career pathways that follow registrar learning — from supervised exposure to certification and beyond.