INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY
Interventional Radiology is a medical specialty that performs minimally invasive procedures using imaging techniques for both diagnosis and treatment. Interventional radiologists play a crucial role in diagnosing and treating diseases using CT (Computed Tomography), Ultrasound, and Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) devices.
DSA, a vital component of interventional radiology, is a specialized medical imaging technique used to examine and treat the vascular system in detail. This technique provides more specific and precise information compared to other radiological imaging methods. Our hospital houses an Interventional Radiology Clinic equipped with state-of-the-art DSA devices and staffed by physicians specialized in this field.
1. Neurointerventional Radiology
Our hospital offers diagnostic and treatment capabilities using endovascular (closed surgery) methods for life-threatening conditions, particularly aneurysms (ballooning), congenital disorders (AVM, AVF), and occlusions of the brain and spinal cord vessels.
Aneurysms: Bubbles/balloons that form on the walls of brain arteries.
Brain AVM and AVF: Simply defined as abnormal tangles of blood vessels.
If vascular diseases like Aneurysms, AVMs, and AVFs rupture, they cause life-threatening brain hemorrhages.
Endovascular Aneurysm Treatment
The treatment of endovascular aneurysms, AVMs, and AVFs is a procedure that generally involves entering a vessel through a small pinhole in the groin. Thin catheters (tubes) are navigated to the diseased vessel in the brain or spinal cord, targeting the area for repair using special products such as coils, stents, or embolizing agents.
Endovascular treatment, which offers faster recovery times and fewer complications for patients, is a significant advancement in vascular surgery and serves as an alternative to open surgery. In cases where open surgery is not possible, patients can often regain their health through endovascular treatment. While these procedures are performed by specialized physicians in developed countries, in our hospital, endovascular neurointerventional treatments are successfully performed by our Interventional Radiologists.
[Image Deion / Caption]: Endovascular aneurysm treatment performed by our hospital’s interventional radiology team using balloons and coils on a patient with an aneurysm in the right carotid artery.
[Image Description / Caption]: Endovascular aneurysm treatment performed with coils by our interventional radiology team on a patient with a millimetric ruptured aneurysm in the right middle cerebral artery. The patient had suffered a brain hemorrhage, and open surgery was deemed too difficult.
Stroke Treatment
Patients suffering from a stroke due to sudden occlusion of brain vessels are treated by our interventional radiology team—working in cooperation with the Emergency Service and Neurology departments—24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
[Image Description / Case Study]: A patient brought to our emergency room due to sudden paralysis and confusion was admitted to the interventional radiology angiography unit for mechanical thrombectomy due to a total blockage in the main vessel supplying the right half of the brain. The patient's occluded brain vessels were completely opened by the interventional radiology team. The picture on the bottom left shows some of the clots removed from the brain vessels.
During Endovascular Mechanical Thrombectomy (emergency stroke treatment), immediate and effective intervention is provided. Additionally, life-threatening vascular diseases such as Carotid Artery Stenosis can be treated using the Carotid Artery Stenting method.
[Image Description / Case Study]: A patient brought to our emergency room due to sudden paralysis and confusion was admitted for mechanical thrombectomy due to total blockage in both vessels supplying the left half of the brain. All blocked vessels were completely opened by the team. The picture on the far right shows some of the clots removed.
2. Peripheral Vascular Interventional Radiology
Our expert staff treats:
Stenosis (narrowing) or occlusion (blockage) of arm and leg vessels,
Renal (kidney) artery stenosis,
Stenosis of other major abdominal vessels.
Additionally, enlargements of the aorta (the largest vessel in the body) can be treated in our department using closed surgical methods (EVAR/TEVAR).
3. Oncological Interventional Radiology and Biopsies
Oncological Interventional Radiology offers targeted treatment strategies by intervening directly in cancerous lesions.
Ablation Techniques: Using high-frequency energy sources (such as Microwave Ablation) to target tumor cells is an effective method, especially for small tumors.
Embolization: Tumor growth can be controlled by cutting off the tumor's blood supply.
Innovative Treatments: Minimally invasive procedures such as Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE) and Transarterial Radioembolization (TARE) are performed in our clinic.
Prostate Fusion Biopsy
This is an advanced method used to diagnose prostate cancer. It combines traditional Transrectal Ultrasound (TRUS) with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to identify prostate lesions with greater precision. This ensures higher accuracy and sensitivity in diagnosis.
Other Biopsies
Our expert team also performs biopsies commonly required in modern medicine with great care, including breast, liver, transthoracic lung, pancreas, lymph node, and thyroid biopsies.
4. Other Interventional Procedures
Many other minimally invasive procedures are performed within our clinic without the need for surgery, including:
Drainage Procedures: Evacuation of fluid or pus-filled cysts accumulated in the body (abscesses, ascites, pleural effusion, etc.).
Nephrostomy: Draining urine from the kidney when the collecting system is blocked.
PTC: Percutaneous Transhepatic Cholangiography (biliary drainage catheter placement).
[Image Description / Caption]: Transthoracic Lung Biopsy: A percutaneous (through the skin) lung biopsy is shown for a patient with a preliminary diagnosis of lung cancer, located centrally in the left lung and difficult to reach surgically. The white arrow indicates the biopsy needle inserted into the nodule in the lung through the patient's back.