Episode # 3 • 17 Jan 2025
MSK Embolization Techniques & Guidelines for Clinical Practice
Why is MSK embolization taking off so fast? For patients with knee osteoarthritis who have tried everything short of surgery, genicular artery embolization (GAE) fills a gap few other treatments can, backed by a growing body of evidence from around the world that it is safe and reproducible. On this episode of the BackTable 2026 MSK Creator Weekend™, Dr. Osman Ahmed of Joint and Vascular Institute moderates a conversation with Dr. Anuj Malhotra of NYU Langone Hospital Long Island and Dr. Ally Baheti of Sound Vascular & Vein about the work that happens outside the procedure room. They review the evidence they rely on, what a recent sham-controlled trial means for the field, how they quote success to patients, why the minimal clinically important difference in pain medicine reframes GAE outcomes, and what the new SIR position statement means for physicians offering the procedure.
This podcast is supported by an educational grant from Guerbet.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
01:33 - The GAE Evidence Base and Quoting Success Rates
04:50 - MCID, Placebo, and the van Zadelhoff Sham Trial
10:13 - The SIR Position Statement on GAE
13:52 - Training, Adoption, and Standardizing Technique
21:21 - Regulatory and Legal Considerations
26:33 - Standard of Care and Medicolegal Risk
30:26 - Rheumatology Referrals and Society Guidelines
32:49 - Orthopedic Partnerships, Post-TKA Pain, and Hemarthrosis
38:33 - Documentation and Practice Operations Pearls
41:15 - Bilateral Knees and Patient Expectations
43:44 - Closing Remarks
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More about this episode
The group then explores where that growth is happening, from office-based labs to academic centers, how standardized endpoints and temporary embolics could make the procedure more reproducible, and when an innovative procedure can be considered standard of care. They also discuss referrals from rheumatology and orthopedics, the path toward ACR and AAOS guidelines, and pain after knee replacement and hemarthrosis as a bridge to orthopedic partners. Dr. Ahmed Farag of Advanced Vascular Institute drops in with documentation pearls, and the episode closes on timing treatment of the second knee and setting patient expectations.
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