About our service
St. Vincent’s Private Hospital offers a state-of-the-art interventional suite for our care of our cancer patients. Our team of skilled IR consultants each have a sub speciality interest in different cancer types.
Interventional Radiology (IR) is occupying an increasingly prominent role in the care of cancer patients with cancer, with involvement from initial diagnosis, right through to minimally invasive treatment. Treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery.
A large numbers of cancers can be detected using IR techniques – Pancreatic, Liver, Lung, Bone, Breast (Maple), Renal, Ovarian/Peritoneal, Prostate, Thyroid and Lymphoma.
Therapeutic Procedures
- Chemoembolization
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Tumor ablation
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Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
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Microwave ablation (MWA)
Supportive Procedures
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Paracentesis or Thoracentesis
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PICC line placement
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Tunneled catheter placement
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Port catheter placement
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Percutaneous biliary drainage
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Percutaneous nephrostomy
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Pleurx catheter placement
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Stenting of malignant strictures
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Portal vein embolization
A method used to deliver chemotherapy medication directly to liver tumours – either primary tumours that originated in the liver, or metastases that migrated to the liver from cancers at other sites, such as colon, neuroendocrine tumours and breast.
About the procedure
The procedure is performed by inserting a catheter into a blood vessel in the patient's groin and advancing it into the specific artery supplying the liver. Contrast, or a special type of dye, is injected and this visualises the tumour and blood vessels on an X-ray to determine the blood supply to the tumour.
The Interventional Radiologist then injects cancer-drug eluting embolic particles through a catheter selectively placed into the artery feeding the tumour. This mixture keeps a high concentration of medication in contact with the tumour for a period of time longer than that associated with traditional systemic chemotherapy.
After the treatment is administered, the catheter is withdrawn and the patient can usually return home after an overnight stay in the hospital. Chemoembolization offers several advantages over traditional systemic chemotherapy
The benefits:
- Image-guided procedures have fewer risks for our patients and allow them to recover more quickly compared with surgery. In fact, the majority of patients who have an IR procedure are able to return home the same day.
- IR procedures don’t require incisions and often can be done with conscious sedation. These include ablation (burning or freezing a tumor), embolization (cutting off a tumor’s blood supply or targeting it with chemotherapy or radioactivity)
PICCs, Ports, Hickman lines
An integral part of care of the cancer patient is intermediate and longer-term vascular access as a means of medication, chemotherapy, or parenteral nutrition administration, as well as allowing repeated blood sampling without need for venipuncture.
To drain infections and abnormal collections of fluid in the chest and abdomen, or to place devices such as chest ports so that patients who must receive regular infusions of chemotherapy drugs can have them delivered directly into the bloodstream.
Procedures offered (neither diagnostic nor treatment in nature)
- Paracentesis or Thoracentesis (diagnosis and treatment)
- PICC line placement (to give fluids, access for medication)
- Tunneled catheter placement
- Port catheter placement
- Percutaneous biliary drainage
- Percutaneous nephrostomy
- Pleurx catheter placement
- Stenting of malignant strictures
- Portal vein embolization
- IVC Filter placement
Interventional Radiologists:
- Dr. Suzanne Shine
- Dr. Stephen Skehan
- Dr. Ronan Ryan
- Prof. Anne O'Doherty
- Dr. Ailbhe O’Neill
- Dr. Jeff McCann
- Dr. Ronan Kileen
- Dr. Eric Heffernan
- Prof. Conor Collins
- Prof. Colin Cantwell
- Dr. David Brophy
- Prof. Jonathan Dodd
- Dr. David Murphy
- Dr. Graeme McNeill
- Dr. Rory O’Donohoe
- Dr. Ann Foster
Radiologist, radiographer, nursing staff and healthcare assistant:
Cancer specific sub specialty - Lung:
Cancer specific sub specialty - Bone:
Cancer specific sub specialty - Propostate:
Cancer specific sub specialty - Breast:
Our highly skilled nursing team provides education for patients and their families with regard to drain management so patients can be discharged home. Patients can also benefit from access to nursing support post discharge.