What is “interventional therapy”?

  1.What is “intervention”?  Interventional is an emerging field of medicine, which emerged in the early 1970s and has shown strong vitality after decades of vigorous development, changing the traditional medical and surgical treatment patterns in many aspects, so it has become one of the three major disciplines alongside internal medicine and surgery, and is one of the most promising emerging disciplines in modern medicine.  China introduced interventional radiology in the early 1980s, and has made important progress in interventional diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, as well as in basic research and the development of related devices, and some aspects have reached international advanced level, such as interventional treatment of liver cancer.  Interventional medicine refers to a special technology of sending special guidewires and catheters under the guidance of imaging systems (e.g. X-ray fluoroscopy, B-ultrasound, CT, MRI) through the skin or through blood vessels to the lesion site for diagnosis and treatment.  2, interventional technology features: a, minimally invasive: only through the skin puncture cannula, physiological or surgical orifice cannula is completed diagnosis and treatment.  b. Repeatability: treatment can be repeated several times by the same route when one-time treatment is not complete or lesions are multiple.  c. Accurate positioning: The operation is guided by medical imaging equipment, so that the puncture and intubation are accurately in place, and the diagnosis and treatment are less blind.  d. High efficacy and fast results: for hemorrhagic lesions, vascular stenosis and other luminal stenosis, once the interventional technique is successful, the efficacy is immediately visible, such as immediate cessation of bleeding, immediate opening of the lumen and immediate disappearance of the accompanying symptoms, which some people call “dramatic effect”. The effect of interventional treatment is better than traditional treatment for medical and surgical lesions that are difficult to treat, such as arteriovenous malformation and hepatocellular carcinoma in the middle and late stages.  e. Low incidence of complications. Combined application of multiple techniques: multiple techniques are convenient and less interfering with each other, with strong synergistic effect. Interventional treatment can be well coordinated with surgery, such as preoperative embolization of tumors can make huge tumors obtain secondary surgical treatment, which can reduce intraoperative bleeding, shorten operation time, improve tumor resection rate, enhance patient immunity and prevent postoperative recurrence. Therefore, it is listed as the preferred option in the treatment of certain tumors, such as: liver cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer, stomach cancer, intestinal cancer, bladder cancer, gynecological tumors, etc.  3.What are the reactions of interventional therapy?  Interventional therapy has fewer side effects than ordinary intravenous chemotherapy, but it may still cause different degrees of treatment reactions. The most common one is post-chemoembolization syndrome, including nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain, liver function impairment, etc. The reactions are mostly transient and can be relieved by symptomatic treatment and proper care.  4.What should I pay attention to in terms of diet before interventional treatment?  Before the operation, strengthen nutrition, and eat more nutritious fish, meat, eggs and fresh vegetables and fruits. 1-2 days before the treatment into easy to digest, less residue food to prevent postoperative bloating constipation, 4 hours before the operation fasting, but according to the situation can be a small amount of water.  5.What should I do if I feel nervous and stressed?  Please do not have too much psychological burden, if you have any questions, or feel less comfortable, you can communicate more with the medical staff or family members to maintain a good mental state. If you are too nervous, it is not good for your resistance and recovery of body functions.