REGULAR CONTENT
Final ID
619
Type
Educational Exhibit-Poster Only
Authors
P Hopewell1, D Coldwell1, M Potts1
Institutions
1University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
Purpose
To identify the utility of Interventional Radiology (IR) in pain management and palliative needs of oncology patients with numerous novel examples provided from our institution while emphasizing IR's responsibility and importance to establish ourselves as clinicians with a primary role on the oncology patient-care team.
Materials & Methods
IR has forged a now well-established role in diagnosing and treating oncology patient's underlying malignancy, yet IR's utility for palliation is highly underutilized in many IR practices. As IR evolves into a primary specialty, our responsibility as clinicians is to not only develop and utilize these resources and techniques, but also to raise awareness and educate other physicians and patients of all available options, either in interdisciplinary conferences or dedicated IR clinics.
Results
At our institution, close interaction with both patients and clinicians has allowed us to optimize patient care and provide various and sometimes novel palliative procedures that can reduce pain and discomforting symptoms, thus improving quality of life. Procedures that are generally considered nonconventional yet commonly performed at our institution include intercostal, pudendal, maxillary branch of cranial nerve V, and celiac plexus neurolysis with ethanol, microwave ablation, and radiofrequency ablation followed by cementoplasty of painful extraspinal metastases. The aforementioned procedures are straightforward using image guidance with relatively few complications, and examples of each are provided.
Conclusions
IR has shown its utility in diagnosing and treating the oncology patient's underlying disease, yet a broad and often underutilized toolbox exists to treat the patient's pain and other debilitating symptoms. Numerous nonconventional examples from our institution are provided to demonstrate IR's evolving role in continued patient care. Through close interactions with other physicians and with patients in dedicated clinics, interventional radiologists can establish our role as primary clinicians while securing our future as a critical element of the patient-care team.
Final ID
619
Type
Educational Exhibit-Poster Only
Authors
P Hopewell1, D Coldwell1, M Potts1
Institutions
1University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
Purpose
To identify the utility of Interventional Radiology (IR) in pain management and palliative needs of oncology patients with numerous novel examples provided from our institution while emphasizing IR's responsibility and importance to establish ourselves as clinicians with a primary role on the oncology patient-care team.
Materials & Methods
IR has forged a now well-established role in diagnosing and treating oncology patient's underlying malignancy, yet IR's utility for palliation is highly underutilized in many IR practices. As IR evolves into a primary specialty, our responsibility as clinicians is to not only develop and utilize these resources and techniques, but also to raise awareness and educate other physicians and patients of all available options, either in interdisciplinary conferences or dedicated IR clinics.
Results
At our institution, close interaction with both patients and clinicians has allowed us to optimize patient care and provide various and sometimes novel palliative procedures that can reduce pain and discomforting symptoms, thus improving quality of life. Procedures that are generally considered nonconventional yet commonly performed at our institution include intercostal, pudendal, maxillary branch of cranial nerve V, and celiac plexus neurolysis with ethanol, microwave ablation, and radiofrequency ablation followed by cementoplasty of painful extraspinal metastases. The aforementioned procedures are straightforward using image guidance with relatively few complications, and examples of each are provided.
Conclusions
IR has shown its utility in diagnosing and treating the oncology patient's underlying disease, yet a broad and often underutilized toolbox exists to treat the patient's pain and other debilitating symptoms. Numerous nonconventional examples from our institution are provided to demonstrate IR's evolving role in continued patient care. Through close interactions with other physicians and with patients in dedicated clinics, interventional radiologists can establish our role as primary clinicians while securing our future as a critical element of the patient-care team.