Interviews with ISSVA Members
Each newsletter we plan to introduce you to a member of ISSVA and
Get to know: Annouk-Anne Bisdorff-Bresson!
Interview from: September 2021
We're proud to introduce you to one of ISSVA's At-Large Board Members, Dr. Annouk-Anne Bisdorff-Bresson, from Paris, France.
What drew you to the field of vascular anomalies?
Prior to my radiology residency I did a general medicine residency and was still not sure if I wanted to stay in radiology, having a hard time seeing less "clinic patients" in diagnostic radiology. However, during my radiology residency in 2000, I rotated through the NRI department at Lariboisière Hospital and their vascular anomalies clinic.
This rotation through the VAC clinic next to Odile Enjolras and the IR team was a revelation; as it was the perfect combination of seeing children and adults in clinic, having a multidisciplinary approach of the clinic and imaging and deciding together upon the treatment approach using either clinical follow up, interventional radiology, surgery or both. Odlie Enjolras suggested a one-year research fellowship in 2001 at Children's Hospital Boston with Patricia Burrows, John Mulliken and Steve Fishman to get more familiar with vascular anomalies. The Boston group confirmed my interest in the field, and, by the way, turned out to be the best year in my life! Returning to Paris, I worked with Odile Enjolras until 2005 and took over Lariboisière's VAC clinic after her retirement.
Did you have a mentor or someone in particular that inspired you professionally?
Concerning the vascular Anomalies field, Odile Enjolras taught me some of her clinical skills, the Boston Group, and particularly Vickie Karian (a nurse practitioner) taught me how to explain, with simple words, what a vascular anomaly is to kids. John B Mulliken and his passion for Vascular anomalies as well as, in interventional radiology, Armand Aymard, Charbel Mounayer and P E Burrows who trained me.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were 25 years old?
That ideals do not exist and that the ideas you have take time to break through! Research can sometimes progress slowly, so learn to be as patient as our patients have to be... things can change with time!
If you did not go into the medical field, is there another career you considered?
Opening up a restaurant/bar or a Bed & Breakfast by the sea.
Get to know: Dov Goldenberg!
Interview from: July 2021
We're proud to start this interview series by introducing you to ISSVA's Scientific Committee chair, Prof Dov Goldenberg, from São Paulo, Brazil.
What drew you to the field of vascular anomalies?
I was in medical residence in plastic surgery in 1997 when I had the opportunity to visit a plastic surgeon in the United States who took care of pediatric burn patients. At the time I didn't know that one of his specialties was vascular anomalies. While training with him I had my first introduction to a vascular anomalies clinic.
A few months later, upon returning to Brazil, I discovered that the person in charge of our patients with vascular anomalies was retiring and I was invited to treat his patients while I was still in my residence program. From that moment, I have been treating vascular anomalies patients and since that time it has become my main research field at the university. Today I’m proud to be in charge of our Vascular Anomalies Clinic.
Why did you choose your specialty, and what does plastic surgery bring to vascular anomalies?
I chose to practice plastic surgery because plastic surgery allow us to repair problems and give patients their normal lives back. This specialty is needed for vascular anomalies treatment, and there is a lack of specialists taking care of vascular anomalies patients.
Tell us about a vascular anomalies case which had a big impact on you or changed the way you think.
As a medical student, I saw a patient with a complex AVM. I was able to remove the lesion and perform a complex reconstruction with a multidisciplinary team and we had a remarkable outcome.
What is the last book you read? What is your favorite book or movie?
The last book I read was "Homo Deus" by Yuval Noah Harari, however my favorite book remains "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. My favorite movie is "The Great Gatsby."
If you did not go into the medical field, is there another career you considered?
Yes, an airline pilot!