Pinhole procedures Q&A
What are pinhole procedures?
As the name suggests pinhole procedures are non surgical, outpatient, same-day procedures that can often be performed in under an hour. They are also called percutaneous procedures, or needle entry procedures. These more recently developed pinhole non surgical techniques allow access to areas that would otherwise require a more invasive procedure, such as traditional surgery requiring general anesthesia, a stay in the hospital, and a long recovery.
What are the advantages of pinhole procedures?
Because they are “minimally invasive” “pinhole” procedures have these advantages:
- Rapid recovery
- fewer side effects
- Less complications
- Less pain
- Less risk
- can be performed in a comfortable, familiar outpatient setting without being “put to sleep”
- Go home the same day with a Band-Aid
Despite the name, these “non surgical, “pinhole” surgeries can have a maximal impact and are used to treat a wide variety of diseases including:
- Vascular diseases: aneurysms, peripheral arterial disease
- Liver and other cancers
- Uterine fibroids
- Knee pain, frozen shoulder, and other sources of pain
- Enlarged prostates
- hemorrhoids
Why do pinhole procedures have so little pain?
Once a tiny needle then a tiny catheter are placed in your artery or vein the vessels are used as roads to get to the area of concern with miniaturized equipment, Once the tiny catheters are in the vessels you feel nothing!
Where do pinhole procedures come from?
Pinhole procedures came from a relatively new, exciting, cutting-edge field of medicine called interventional radiology (IR) IR started growing in the 1960s and exploded in the 1990s, and is still growing and revolutionizing medicine. Interventional radiology uses a tiny needle to access the body and then image guidance to precisely guide miniaturized medical devices. Inside vessels, for example, catheters and wires are used under image guidance to position specialized, miniaturized devices to perform a wide variety of interventions. Or a needle can access a specific part of an organ for biopsy or drain an abscess using image guidance to precisely guide. Because of the needle used to access the body these procedures became known as “pinhole” procedures.
Why Imaging and Interventional Specialists?
Imaging and interventional specialists are board-certified in performing “pinhole” procedures: cutting edge solutions… without the cutting!
Pinhole procedures are minimally invasive procedures performed by highly trained Imaging & Interventional Specialists: not even a keyhole… just a pinhole. By using medical images (like X-rays) Imaging & Interventional specialized doctors can guide small instruments inside your body. This less invasive approach allows for quicker recovery.
Interventional radiology is an exciting new field in medicine with many recent innovations that allow pinhole procedures to be done here in El Paso. All our board-certified specialists are well trained in this exciting new field that has grown over the last 10-20 years offering innovative solutions to many medical problems.
Imaging & Interventional Specialists you will receive high-quality, world-class, personalized care from leaders in the field of minimally invasive, image-guided “pinhole” procedures.