The Hindu Business Line : Minimally invasive treatments through radiology explained

Minimally invasive targeted treatments could have become the order of the day, but not many people are in the know of these advances in the field of medicine.

The meeting on ‘The Impact of Interventional Radiology’ organised by the Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) was an eye-opener to many.

Dr Mathew Cherian, Head, Radiology Department, KMCH, invited select patients on whom he had performed minimally invasive procedures such as removing a block in the blood vessel supplying blood to the brain, fibroid in uterus, vascular malformation in eyes, profuse bleeding in the inner walls of the stomach and cerebral haemorrhage and some members of the public to apprise them about interventional radiology.

He demonstrated the procedure via a power point presentation, to make people understand that such procedures, though risky, did not require prolonged hospitalisation, were less painful than the traditional method of cutting open the human body and reduced the time for recovery.

“Patients return home within a day or two of the procedure,” Dr Cherian said.

He invited a patient on whom he performed uterine artery embolisation. The patient, mother of a class XII student explained that she was reluctant to undergo hysterectomy operation (a conventional procedure of removing the uterus for fibroids) because she was averse to prolonged hospitalisation and post-operative attention. So, she opted for uterine artery embolisation.

Dr Cherian explained the procedure graphically. He said interventional radiologists use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to treat the fibroid by blocking the flow of blood to the tumour and causing it to shrink. “Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by using this technique,” he added.