 |
| The new Interventional Radiology Suite at Saint Francis Hospital |
Poughkeepsie - Saint Francis Hospital and Health Centers in Poughkeepsie in early February placed into service its state-of-the-art Interventional Radiology Suite (IRS). "I know that's a tired expression but it's amazing, the bells and whistles this equipment has," said Robert Zarelli, chief of diagnostics for the hospital's Radiology Department. "It gives us state-of-the-art imaging."
At the heart of the suite is a fluoro machine with CT capability.
Interventional radiologists treat an ever-widening range of conditions inside the body from outside the body by inserting various small instruments or tools, such as catheters or wires. In conjunction with the use of various x-ray and imaging techniques, such as CT scanners, MRI scanners, ultrasound scanners, Interventional Radiology offers an alternative to the surgical treatment of many conditions and can eliminate the need for hospitalization.
"This allows us to do minimally invasive procedures throughout the body, except for the heart which we leave to the cardiologists," explained Dr. J. Louis Solis of Radiology Associates of Poughkeepsie at Saint Francis Hospital. "This allows us to improve the quality of the work we do."
Two patients with liver tumors were treated the first week. "There was no way they could be treated other than this," said Dr. Solis of the chemo embolization treatments.
"A catheter was inserted through an artery in the groin up to the artery that controls blood flow to the liver. We injected these little particles that are soaked in a chemo-therapy drug. They go into the tumors and sit there until they slowly release the chemotherapy agent right into the tumor."
This procedure avoids intravenous toxicity and is effective in cases where intravenous therapy is not. "We're able to use this system to get the arterial catheter in, inject dyes and take pictures of the arteries," he said. "We even did a CT scan with the machine. It spins around to let us see if we have the catheter in the right place."
Another application is for trauma cases. An example would be to avoid surgery for bleeding. "Let's say someone is bleeding from the spleen," said Dr. Solis. "We can place a catheter, again, into the groin artery, guide it up to the artery that supplies the spleen and inject little coils into that artery to plug it up. In 90 percent of the patients we'll avoid surgery."
Radiology staff underwent intense specialized training, at SFH and the Phillips Center in Cleveland, before the Interventional Radiology Suite went operational. It's located in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab. |