Although we most often understand radiology as a diagnostic method, but now it is also increasingly used in treatment. As the head of the Center for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine of Santaros Clinics tells us assoc.dr. Arthur Samuil, treatment with the help of radiological studies is gaining popularity, as it allows operations to be performed with greater precision, protecting the organs and tissues of patients, thereby avoiding adverse reactions. In addition, it is so safer and more convenient for the doctor himself, and for the patient.
“There are more and more such procedures, and with the emergence of technological opportunities, we can implement them more and more often. Some of these procedures are new, and the trends themselves are changing as new measures emerge,” the assoc. prof. said at the Longevity conference. Dr. A.Samuil.
Quite often, such procedures are applied to oncological patients.
Dr. Aurimas Mačionis, Head of the Sector of Minimal Radiological Invasive Procedures at LSMU Kaunas Clinics, said that with radiological operations, severe patients who need complex care are often operated on.
“We have new innovative procedures that protect tissues, have a low risk of complications, and which may be suitable for patients to whom we cannot offer any other treatment,” said A. Mačionis.
Such procedures, according to the doctor, can be used to combat cancer of various localizations – oncological diseases of the lungs, liver, kidneys, bones.
“When an oncological disease has already spread, the goal is to control it. While treating, we hope to prolong the patient’s life and to the same extent, so that his quality of life is good, he can live a normal life,” said Dr. A. Mačionis.
The doctor emphasized that it is very important not only to prolong a person’s years, but also to strive for a quality life for the patient. It is desired that after the treatment of the disease, a person can work, engage in his favorite activities, as well as so that a person has the strength and is not clinging to the bed.
“These new innovations reduce the effect of the so-called ‘big surgery’, when a person goes to resuscitation after a major operation, then remains in the hospital for a long time. In this case, there is a high risk of complications, especially infections that are difficult to succumb to antibiotics,” the doc said. Dr. A.Samuil.
Therefore, according to the doctor, the quality of life itself improves, because the procedure is not as invasive as traditional surgery. Small incisions are made, the organ is preserved.
The best news is that if the operation goes well, the patient can already travel home on the same or the next day. The number of complications is less common than in traditional surgery, and if they happen, they are usually milder.
“On the other hand, a long stay in the hospital can be very depressing, and psychological moments are important. Healing at home is quite different than healing in a hospital,” he said. Dr. A.Samuil.
What is the difference between innovative and conventional surgery?
Traditional surgery, as told by the doc. Dr. A. Samuil, also develops along the same path as endoscopic procedures, when trying to perform as little invasive operations as possible.
However, the main difference between traditional and innovative surgery is in the size of the incisions – innovative operations are performed through extremely small incisions.
“Of course, we need to understand that it will not be possible to completely abandon traditional surgery, because in some places it is simply needed. But in some areas we supplement the treatment with minimally interventional procedures.
Lying in the hospital is also relevant to everyone, how quickly you recover, how quickly you heal, how long you will be incapacitated and so on,” said Doc. dr. A.Samuil.
Tumors can be frozen or affected by heat
One of the procedures of radiology is endovascular operations, during which malignant tumors are treated. In such patients, through the inguinal artery, the aorta travels to the small arteries that feed the tumor.
“Then there may be multiple choices. One of them, when special particles are injected, to which the chemopreparation is connected, it acts as a local chemotherapy. The drug affects the tumor. Another method is when a radiation particle is attached to the carrier particle, and the tumor is irradiated from the inside. This is most often done during the transition period, when the next treatment is planned. In any case, these therapies help to manage the disease,” said Dr. A. Mačionis.
When performing radiological operations, artificial intelligence also helps. According to assoc. prof. Dr. A. Samuilio, artificial intelligence allows you to reduce the amount of human error,
Another type of procedure is ablations. As Dr. A. Mačionis explains, ablation implies the destruction of the tumor using various therapeutic methods. Currently, radiofrequency, micro wave, cryo and electrochemotherapy ablation is widely used in Lithuania.
During radiofrequency and microwave ablation, the tumor is exposed to heat – special antennae are inserted into the tumor and a large amount of heat is applied until the tumor disappears. At that time, cryoablation, on the contrary, freezes the tumor to ice , later thawing it, thereby destroying the tissue.
“Electrochemotherapy – when the tumor is exposed to electric current, the permeability of the cell membrane occurs, the patient is injected with a preparation that destroys the laxtel itself,” the doctor explained the different methods.
Watch the video of the conversation here: Delfi.lt
