“Today micro-invasive treatments are helpful for a wide range of conditions from fibroids, prostatic enlargement, advanced pelvic cancers, and delivering cancer treatments, to a diverse array of interventional radiology procedures in the chest and abdomen,” says diagnostic and interventional radiologist and founder of The Microsurgery, Dr Gary Sudwarts, who practises at a number of Netcare hospitals.

What is interventional radiology?

Using imaging equipment including specialised x-rays, a thin catheter wire is inserted into an artery through a tiny puncture in the patient’s skin and carefully directed to the relevant site within the body for treatment.

In the case of artery embolisation procedures, tiny particles are released at the site to starve the lesion of blood supply, causing it to wither and become harmless. Chemoembolisation procedures deliver a dose of chemotherapy right to the blood vessels supplying the tumour. These micro procedures are performed while the person remains conscious, or with only minor sedation where needed.

A distinct advantage of interventional radiology approaches is that procedures are non-surgical, and therefore less physically traumatic than traditional open surgery. Micro procedures do not incur many of the risks associated with open surgery and do not require general anaesthetic. Often the recovery is quicker and the hospital stay reduced, compared with traditional open surgeries.

“In the past, such options were usually reserved for inoperable conditions and for patients who could not tolerate anaesthetic well or had other risk factors that otherwise precluded them from surgery. Developments in the field in recent years have opened many new applications for these least invasive interventions. Now, interventional radiology is increasingly recommended as a first line treatment for patients in appropriate instances, with a growing list of applications,” he says.

Dr Sudwarts is well known for his work in raising awareness of uterine fibroids, which include symptoms of heavy menstrual bleeding, abdominal pain and bloating, among others, and can cause infertility.

“Previously, women would have had to undergo open surgery, often a hysterectomy, to find relief from uterine fibroids. Now, the minimally invasive uterine fibroid embolisation procedures that are available allow for the condition to be treated without sacrificing fertility in the childbearing years.”

Non-surgical treatment for blocked fallopian tubes – a first in Sub-Saharan Africa

There are many possible causes of infertility. Following a gynaecologist or fertility specialist’s comprehensive assessment and diagnosis, women who are unable to conceive due to a blockage in their fallopian tubes now have an advanced non-surgical option available.

Dr  Sudwarts and Dr Maja Wojno recently became the first interventional radiologists to offer fallopian tube recanalisation in Sub-Saharan Africa in a procedure performed at Netcare Park Lane Hospital in Johannesburg, and so far more than 20 women have undergone the procedure successfully.

“The fallopian tubes are crucial to fertility and if they become blocked, commonly due to clusters or casts of cells, fertilisation cannot take place. This micro procedure to reopen the fallopian tubes is painless and does not require the woman to stay over in hospital or take additional recovery time off work.”

The procedure is available to women through The Microsurgery at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial, Netcare UCT Private Academic, Netcare uMhlanga Hospital, and Netcare Park Lane hospitals.