Interventional Radiology in Germany – treatment in the Best Hospitals

X-ray surgical interventions help to treat many diseases with minimally invasive techniques through short incisions in the leg or arm, or from inside the blood vessels. These types of surgical procedures are called endovascular interventions. They are performed under the guidance of X-ray diagnostics. Interventional radiology in Germany is most often used to treat cardiovascular pathologies, but it has also proven itself in many other areas of medicine, including oncology, gynecology, and urology.

Content

1. How is an endovascular procedure performed?
2. What manipulations can be performed through the blood vessels?
3. Benefits of interventional radiology in Germany

How is an endovascular procedure performed?

The endovascular procedure is non-traumatic and causes minimal discomfort to a patient, so it is usually performed under local anesthesia. A doctor makes a small skin incision, most often in the groin. The specialist punctures the femoral artery, sometimes the femoral vein.

The procedure can also be performed through other arteries. For example, in recent years, the radial artery approach has been increasingly used in modern medical centers. Doctors perform an artery puncture in the arm. This is a more challenging task, but the manipulation is less traumatic and bed rest is not needed during the first day after it.

Doctors can reach any blood vessel in the human body through the arteries and veins. The specialists control their actions with the help of X-ray scans. They inject a contrast agent into the blood vessels, which is visualized on X-ray scans.

What manipulations can be performed through the blood vessels?

Doctors can perform a wide variety of manipulations with an access through the arteries. The most commonly used procedures in medicine are as follows:

• stent implantation, for example, for vascular stenosis (narrowing) or aortic dissection;
• prosthetic repair involves placing a stent graft inside a blood vessel;
• balloon dilatation is the expansion of the narrowed blood vessel, often used for occlusive arterial diseases;
• embolization is the closure of the lumen of the blood vessel, for example, to treat cancer, uterine fibroids, prostate adenoma, and eliminate arteriovenous malformation or an aortic aneurysm;
• chemoembolization or radioembolization are procedures for cancer treatment by closing the lumen of blood vessels with emboli containing chemotherapy drugs or radioactive substances;
• extraction or dissolution of blood clots is often used for heart attacks and strokes, and can save a person's life in the first hours after a cardiovascular accident;
• intra-arterial administration of drugs, for example, during stem cell therapy or chemotherapy;
• delivery to the heart of devices for heart valve repair, heart valve prostheses, electrodes for cardiac pacing, etc.

Benefits of interventional radiology in Germany

Interventional radiology is a complex medical field. Although interventions are performed with minimally traumatic techniques and do not require long-term rehabilitation, they may cause complications. It is better to undergo the procedure in a specialized center to minimize their risk.

In Germany, interventional procedures: 

• are performed using state-of-the-art equipment; 
• can often be performed through a radial artery approach, which makes them less traumatic;
• involve the use of the latest materials and devices such as high-quality stents, drug-loaded microspheres, artificial heart valves, vascular prostheses, etc.;
• can be successfully combined with other types of treatment during hybrid operations.

X-ray surgical procedures in Germany are performed by highly qualified specialists who have a great reputation all over the world. This is one of the leading countries in terms of the level of training of doctors.

You are welcome to use the Booking Health service to undergo your treatment at one of the clinics in Germany. On the website, you can compare the cost of treatment and make your appointment at the best price. Our specialists will help you to choose the most suitable hospitals and organize your trip.

Authors: 

The article was edited by medical experts, board-certified doctors Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova and Dr. Vadim Zhiliuk. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!

Sources:

National Center for Biotechnology

Healthline

Medscape