Interventional Oncology
Liver directed therapies for Hepatoma and Metastasis • Renal tumor ablation • Bone and Spine tumor ablations
Painful Bone and Spinal Metastasis
Many cancers may spread to bone, very often to the spine. These cancerous bone and spinal lesions cause pain by releasing chemicals that stimulate pain pathways to our brain, compress nerves, and weaken the bone leading to fractures. These bone lesions can be treated by accessing the lesion in the bone or vertebral body under imaging guidance. Once this is achieved, a radio-frequency probe is advanced into the tumor, and high frequency energy is deposited in the tissues creating heat that kills the tumor cells. This is most commonly performed for painful lesions in the spine.
Liver Directed Therapies for Hepatoma and Liver Metastases
The liver is an especially important organ in the body with many functions including filtering the toxins we ingest, producing important proteins, storing energy, and helping with digestion. The liver may become scarred when injured by high alcohol consumption or infections like Hepatitis B or C. A process of constant tissue injury and repair ensues, which makes the liver cells prone to mutate. This then increases the risk for tumor development. This tumor type is commonly referred to as hepatoma, liver cancer, or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The prominent vascular supply to the liver also makes it a common place for tumors from other parts of the body to spread. When this occurs it is referred to as metastatic liver disease. Vascular and Interventional Radiologists can play an important role in the treatment of liver cancer or metastatic liver disease, providing minimally invasive treatment that can significantly improve quality of life and prolong patient survival.
Renal Tumor Ablation
Renal cell carcinoma is a tumor type that grows within the kidney. Most of these tumors are discovered incidentally during unrelated imaging exams but they may also be found due to symptoms related to the tumor (e.g., back pain, or blood in the urine). When these tumors are discovered early enough, they can often be treated by means of percutaneous ablation. During percutaneous ablation, a needle or probe is inserted into the tumor, and when the probe is activated, lethal energy is deposited into the tumor, either in the form of heat or ice. This destroys the tumor tissue while preserving most of the normal organ surrounding the tumor. For early renal tumors, percutaneous ablation has been shown to be as effective as surgical alternatives, with fewer resulting complications and quicker recovery times.
Port Placement
Patients with certain diseases or medical conditions often need intravenous therapy for multiple sessions and over long periods of time. The veins in the arms can become inaccessible with repeated sticks and IVs, so implanted ports become invaluable in maintaining easy access to the bloodstream for medications, chemotherapy, nutritional support, and blood draws. Vascular and Interventional Radiology physicians place your implanted port with a combination of ultrasound and X-ray guidance. This significantly reduces the risks associated with traditional surgical placement. Additionally, the minimally invasive nature of image-guided port placement requires only moderate sedation for comfort, avoiding the risks associated with general anesthesia.
Our experienced staff will then educate you and your loved ones on your new port’s care and maintenance, so that you can concentrate on getting healthier.
