Interventional radiology began with the development of x-ray technology in the early 20th century. A breakthrough in imaging of the vessels came in 1929, when Werner Forssmann, a surgical resident in Germany, put a catheter into his own antecubital vein, advanced it, and took x-rays of himself to prove the catheter was in the right atrium. During the 1930's and 40's the medical fraternity recognized his work and began using catheters to measure cardiac output and to introduce drugs into the heart  

 

In 1953, Sven-Ivar Seldinger described a percutaneous femoral technique where a catheter over a guidewire was advanced through the skin and into the femoral artery. This today is known as the “Seldinger technique” and is used globally by all interventional radiologists for vascular access in interventional radiology procedures (1). 

 

Interventional radiology arrived at the Malaysian shores in 1968 when University Hospital, Petaling Jaya obtained its first diagnostic angiography, made available by the Technical Assistance Programme of the Colombo Plan. The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific was conceived at the Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in January 1950 as a cooperative venture for the economic and social advancement of the peoples of South and Southeast Asia.

 

The initial procedures were pneumoencephalograms, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiograms (PTC), translumbar aortograms and once the Seldinger technique was developed, cardiac and other angiograms were performed. Dr Joginder Singh and Dr Ah-Hoo Ang were the early pioneers of the interventional work.

 

In the mid 1990s, Dato Abdul Samad Sakijan, a National University Hospital radiologist practicing at the General Hospital Kuala Lumpur took interventional radiology practice in Malaysia to the next level, making it recognised as a vital component in medical practice (2). 

 

The practice of interventional radiology in Malaysia grew with the development of new procedures, better machines and trained interventional radiologists. Today, a wide range of interventional radiology procedures are performed in various hospitals throughout the country.

 

An Interventional Radiology special interest group was loosely formed within the College of Radiology in 2010, with Assoc. Prof. Sobri Muda as its president. Subsequently, the members of the group mooted the idea of the formation of the Malaysian Society of Interventional Radiology and MYSIR was officially registered in October 2012 with Dr Josephine Subramaniam as its first president.

 

The members felt that as a society, apart from educational and awareness activities, the society will also form ties with other interventional societies around the world to foster working relationship, exchange of ideas and training opportunities as we seek to broaden our knowledge.