Interventional radiology picking up in Bengaluru hospitals

Interventional radiology, which offers minimally invasive ‘pin-hole’ procedures with short recovery periods, are becoming increasingly popular in Bengaluru. While most corporate hospital chains in the city now offer these procedures, a few prominent teaching hospitals and government hospitals also offer these.

The procedures are done mainly through catheters inserted into blood vessels, kidneys, etc. Any organ can be accessed, and various procedures can be done for different organs, says Dr Reddi Prasad Yadavali, President of Indian Society of Vascular & Interventional Radiology– Karnataka Chapter (ISVIR-KAR).

Procedures like radiofrequency ablation are better alternatives to surgery, says Dr Madhu S D, Chief Interventional Radiologist at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology.

“This procedure is as effective as surgery in curing stage 2 liver cancer. A needle will be inserted to burn the tumours under CT scan guidance. The patient can leave the hospital in two days. Whereas the liver resection surgery is a morbid procedure with large scars, chance of infections and a one-month hospitalisation period,” he says.

Interventional radiology also makes tissue removal for biopsies easy. Only a 2 -mm incision would be needed for needle insertion, whereas open surgeries were the only option for certain scenarios of liver biopsy earlier.

It’s also useful for conditions like postpartum bleeding, that may otherwise require the removal of the patient’s uterus.

While these procedures are alternatives to surgeries, interventional radiology is the only option in some scenarios, says Dr Yadavali. For example, patients with advanced liver cancer can go through procedures like TACE and TARE that would give the patient more time until they can undergo a liver transplant.

He says that, in the corporate hospital setting, the cost of interventional radiology procedures can range between Rs 15,000-20,000 (for taking a liver biopsy sample) and Rs 14 lakh (for TARE). “TARE is the most expensive procedure, but this is because radioactive material worth Rs 8-9 lakh has to be imported,” says Dr Yadavali.

Dr Madhu says that the Kidwai cath lab performs most procedures done in the private sector. Even TARE is performed, but using less optimal radioactive material, he says. The hospital has done around 2,500 interventional radiology procedures since 2016, when the cath lab was set up with donations from a Trust.

But given that the materials required for the procedures are expensive, the hospital often has to depend on donors to support patients.

“Many of the procedures are covered under Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, but are yet to implemented at the state level. Once these procedures are covered by the state, patients can get them for free. Since the scheme coverage is Rs 1.5 lakh and 95% of the procedures can be done at Kidwai within Rs 1 lakh,” he says.