LRH introduces new specialty to diagnose, treat serious ailments.

Byline: Ashfaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR -- The medical teaching institution Lady Reading Hospital is the first public sector hospital in the country to start interventional radiology (IR), a new specialty to diagnose and treat patients with serious medical conditions without subjecting them to major surgeries.

Experts said that the new technology was used to remove blood clot and prevent stroke, drain abscesses, bile ducts and kidneys etc without general anaesthesia.

'The system is used to perform biopsies and stop severe and life-threatening bleeding caused by a variety of conditions, such as trauma injuries, internal haemorrhages and complication during childbirth and many other conditions less invasively with unprecedented precision,' said Dr Tahira Nishtar, the chairperson of radiology department at LRH.

She said that the top of line IR dedicated angiography system began work a month ago and helped to cure patients through techniques using real-time radiological image guidance, like X-ray, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to correctly target therapy procedures that were minimally invasive and quicker than surgery.

20 doctors being trained in interventional radiology for deployment in other hospitals

Dr Tahira said that the launch of IR would ensure treatment of several medical conditions without subjecting patients to surgeries. She added that they would expand the cutting-edge technology through training of doctors and human resources to benefit poor patients.

'We are providing postgraduate training to 20 doctors, who can be deployed to start IR in other hospitals of the province,' she said.

Interventional radiologist Dr Shamsullah Burki said that initially ultrasound and CT scan guided procedures were started prior to getting the upgrade of angiography, which was rolled out internationally only last year and its maker was one of the two top manufacturers of angiography systems worldwide.

He said...