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Neurointerventional Radiology – How this Treatment May Be Able to Help
For those with diseases of the spine, neck, and brain, neurointerventional radiology can be an intriguing and promising route to take.
With so much focus on creating treatments and procedures that not only fight cancer, but prevent it from returning, it can be hard for the typical person outside the medical community to keep up with the developments. It’s not until you are diagnosed with the disease that you tend to read up and learn about the various treatments.
For those with diseases of the spine, neck, and brain, neurointerventional radiology can be an intriguing and promising route to take. But what is it, how does it work, and what does it treat? We’ll cover it all here.
What is Neurointerventional Radiology
Unless you are in the medical community, there’s a good chance you’ve never even heard of neurointerventional radiology, which is also referred to as endovascular neurosurgery or neurointerventional surgery. The procedure is a very specific one that allows consulting radiologists to diagnose and then treat diseases of the spine, neck, and brain in a minimally invasive manner.
Rather than a typical open surgery, instead a small puncture is made in the skin in order to perform the surgery. Within that hole, tubes or small needles are placed, and then high-tech images guide the technician to the target of the procedure. This could be a location in the spine, neck, head, or brain. This particular practice is incredibly innovative and is truly leading the field right now. Obviously, the focus is on treating the disease, but it is being done in a way that is safer and easier on the patient.
According to statistics, there are only 500 neurointerventional surgeons in the country at the moment. This is due to the fact that it is such a new and specialized field.
Why Opt for this Procedure?
While this procedure can be used for a brain or spinal tumor embolization, that is far from its only use. Neurointerventional surgery is also being used to treat brain aneurysms, hemorrhagic stroke, pediatric brain and vascular malformations, traumatic cerebrovascular injuries, spinal vascular malformations, and much more.
Because this procedure is much less invasive than typical open surgery, patients can expect a much faster recovery time with fewer complications and less pain during the recovery process. Rather than dealing with an incision that could be large in size and require numerous stitches, the patient simply has a bandage over the area in which the tube was inserted.
The Procedure is Expected to Grow in Popularity
So, while this procedure is still considered innovative and not many clinics and hospitals are offering it, experts are predicting this will soon change. In fact, it is projected that the neurointerventional devices market will grow by 4.8% by the time we hit the year 2025. What this means is that it will be more accessible and more widely used by patients.
The procedure certainly provides the right candidates with an attractive option over the traditional open surgery. And as stated, this procedure is also able to deal with so many different diseases and issues affecting the spine, neck, head, and brain.