• December 11, 2024

Last updated on December 11, 2024

ROAD2IR – IT STARTS WITH A NEPHROSTOMY

Interventional Radiology (IR) has become integral to the delivery of modern healthcare but there is disparate access to services worldwide which is most apparent in sub-Saharan Africa. Road2IR is an international consortium initiated by Fabian Laage Gaupp and colleagues in 2018 to train African interventionalists and develop local infrastructure to provide a long-term, self-sufficient system. At its core are high-frequency, two-week teaching trips by international IR teams to provide in-country clinical and procedural training. The almost 50 million strong population of Uganda currently has no formally trained IR and in 2023, Mulago National Referral Hospital, a 1700-bed hospital in Kampala, Uganda became the second Road2IR training site where I worked earlier this year.

The first intake consists of three fellows, and consultant radiologists who have entered the newly established 2 year training program. The team has already developed a mature clinical service with a busy outpatient clinic, inpatient services, and long-term follow-up. Some patients travel over 24 hours to receive care. Basic interventional imaging modalities are available including the use of an operating theatre fitted with a C-arm. Patients often present with advanced stages of disease, not commonly encountered in Australia which is as fascinating as it is heartbreaking. Despite this, the clinical work is rewarding as even the simplest procedure can result in life-altering benefits. We performed an array of procedures including adult and paediatric biopsies, drains, nephrostomies, and complex biliary reconstructions. Recently, a paediatric vascular malformation service has been established.

An enormous amount of administrative work is being done at an organisational level to develop the infrastructure to support IR in East Africa; however, clinical training lies at the foundation of its mission. This meaningful work, to train the new generation of African Interventionalists, is deserving of support from our community of Australian and New Zealand IRs, radiographers, and nurses.

For further details about the program and how to join, visit www.road2ir.org or you can contact me via my email desai.mih@gmail.com

Dr Mihir Desai

Vascular & Interventional Radiologist

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