Minimally invasive surgery has revolutionized human medicine, resulting in reduced morbidity and mortality, shorter hospitalization times, and the ability to manage otherwise untreatable conditions.
More than simply providing the ability to perform the same surgical procedures with smaller incisions and faster recovery times, interventional radiology (IR) techniques can provide new approaches to a variety of disorders in veterinary patients with otherwise few options.
Minimally invasive surgery is best known to veterinarians in the form of endoscopic, laparoscopic, and thoracoscopic procedures, in which surgery is performed with the aid of video assistance. A previous article (Interventional Endoscopy: The Essentials, October 2013) described some of the new procedures performed using interventional endoscopy.1 Less commonly known, but equally important, image-guided procedures using fluoroscopic guidance now offer similar opportunities to treat difficult conditions.
Related Article: Interventional Endoscopy: The Essentials
Contemporary imaging techniques, including ultrasonography and fluoroscopy, are used for the selective access of vascular and other structures for therapeutic delivery of various materials. The following introduces veterinary IR and some of the currently offered procedures.