Discussing the Complications Survey Results

Two months ago, we invited our listeners to participate in an anonymous Complications Survey. Our goal was to encourage open and honest conversations about procedural complications and what we can learn from them. In this episode, our BackTable hosts conduct a roundtable discussion about the results of the survey and share their personal experiences with complications.

The hosts start with distinguishing between complications from high-risk procedures and unexpected complications that arise in healthy individuals, noting that the latter type takes a larger toll on an IR. They emphasize the important role of case selection in minimizing complications and how each of them presents complication risks to patients during the informed consent process.

Next, the hosts read through complication stories that respondents submitted. Each host also shares stories about the aftermath of their own complications and how to communicate these to patients, families, and referring doctors.

Finally, we highlight an important survey finding: 76% of respondents do not think that complications are discussed enough among endovascular and interventional specialists. In the future, we hope to bring more attention to procedural complications and share advice on how we can collectively minimize risks for our patients and support each other in dealing with complications.

We would like to give special thanks to all of our BackTable community members who submitted their insights on complications! If you have a show topic or guest suggestion on the subject of dealing with or preventing complications, reach out to us on our website or social media.