Minimally Invasive Alternatives to Surgery

Research on three minimally invasive procedures was presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiology (SCVIR) in San Antonio (TX, USA). SCVIR is a professional association for doctors who specialize in minimally invasive procedures that are alternatives to surgery.

A new treatment uses lasers to eradicate varicose veins, according to preliminary research from Cornell University Medical Center (New York, NY, USA). The minimally invasive treatment is simpler and less costly than the surgical alternative. Most patients can return to normal activity immediately. The treatment is now being used at five centers in the United States.

Stent-graft repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms appears to be replacing conventional surgery as a first-line treatment. More than 30 research papers tracking more than 3,000 patients were presented at the meeting. Results show the minimally invasive treatment is successful and results in far fewer complications—including stroke—than traditional surgery.

A genetically engineering modification of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) called Reteplase may be an effective stroke therapy, extending the treatment window from three to six hours, suggests preliminary data from Baptist Memorial Hospitals in Memphis (TN, USA). Reteplase appears to break up stroke-causing clots a majority of the time when administered directly into the clot by a specialist, such as an interventional radiologist, and appears to cause less bleeding than tPA.



Related Links:
Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiology (SCVIR)