2024 Medical Science Popularization - Interventional Ultrasound

Intervention, as the name suggests, means entering into something to intervene.

Interventional ultrasound is to complete various puncture operations under real-time ultrasound monitoring or guidance, such as biopsy, angiography and other interventional diagnoses, as well as aspiration, catheterization, drug injection, ablation and other interventional treatments, so that patients can avoid the pain of traditional surgical operations, but achieve comparable diagnosis and treatment effects. Currently, interventional ultrasound has become one of the supporting technologies in the field of minimally invasive surgery.

【Clinical Application of Interventional Ultrasound】

1. Ultrasound angiography is similar to enhanced scanning of CT and MRI (nuclear magnetic resonance imaging). It includes ultrasound angiography of liver, kidney and other organ tumors to clarify their nature; evaluation of the effect before and after ablation treatment; hysterosalpingography to evaluate the patency of bilateral fallopian tubes; right heart ultrasound angiography to understand whether there are abnormal channels in the left and right hearts, etc.

2. Ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy, such as puncture biopsy of superficial tumors and lymph nodes, puncture biopsy of thyroid and breast nodules, and puncture biopsy of organs and tumors such as the liver, spleen, and kidneys.

3. Interventional treatment under ultrasound guidance, including puncture and catheter aspiration of effusions, puncture and drainage and sclerotherapy of abscesses and cysts; ablation treatment of thyroid nodules and breast nodules; ablation treatment of uterine fibroids and adenomyosis; ablation treatment of liver and kidney tumors; and ultrasound-guided percutaneous transhepatic bile duct and gallbladder puncture and catheter drainage for obstructive jaundice, which has an immediate effect on reducing jaundice and establishes a "life-saving" channel for further treatment.

In short, as long as the lesion can be clearly displayed by ultrasound, almost all interventional diagnosis or treatment can be performed under ultrasound guidance.

Advantages of interventional ultrasound

Using real-time ultrasound "navigation" for puncture can improve safety and accuracy; in general, only local anesthesia is required, which greatly reduces the risk of anesthesia; the operation is simple and fast, with less trauma and quick recovery; it has strong repeatability and no radiation; and it can be performed at the bedside when necessary.