Dubbed “the doctors of the future, practicing today,” interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in image-guided procedures to offer patients minimally invasive, targeted treatments for a wide range of conditions.
Seven interventional radiologists with Inland Imaging offer the latest advancements at Providence Spokane hospitals, in some instances, treatments that even Seattle doctors don’t offer. They’re known throughout the nation for their research and amazingly intricate ways to improve—and sometimes save—people’s lives.
A Cancer Treatment that feels ‘Like Magic’
Pauline Adamson’s visit to one of Inland Imaging’s expert interventional radiologists was because of kidney cancer. The 87-year-old went to a urologist who ordered imaging studies that were read by Ken Symington, MD, an interventional radiologist who specializes in cancer treatments.
“Pauline was not a good candidate for surgery—especially not a kidney removal that would leave her with questionable renal function,” says Dr. Symington. “Due to the nature of the tumor, her only options were passively watching the cancer grow or a percutaneous cryoablation.” This is a process in which the tumor is frozen with argon gas, thawed with helium, then refrozen to kill the tumor—all possible through a few tiny punctures.
While he consulted with other experts across the nation about the best treatment for Adamson’s large and complex mass, the patient’s daughter, Carlene, was conducting her own research from far-away Belgium.
“When we were confronted with her cancer diagnosis, we were devastated,” Carlene says. “The prognosis for surgery was forbidding, so I set out to find some alternatives. I learned a lot about cryoablation and it seemed like a fabulous option.”
Adamson was awake right after the outpatient procedure, spent one night at the hospital just for observation and went home the next morning.
She says, “It was absolutely so easy … I was amazed. You would think something like this would set you back, but there were no restrictions, no recovery period. My daughter could see I had three little puncture wounds, but they were gone practically overnight.”
“Dr. Symington’s office has been amazing,” Carlene offers.
“He made time for me to speak with him during times I wasn’t in the U.S., and continues to call Mom at random times to check up on her.”
Adamson is appreciative as well. “I feel very fortunate,” Adamson says. “I think I’ll go to Belgium for a few months, which is really kind of unbelievable considering I’ve had this tumor and yet am so well. At my age, this is all like magic!
‘Sky-Diving Gramma’ Finds a Hero
Peggy Eberly, the patient Chris Zylak, MD, affectionately refers to as his “sky-diving gramma,” almost died following a massive stroke. The 81-year-old Spangle woman says she simply woke up one morning and didn’t feel right. She got out of bed and collapsed on her way through the living room. Eberly’s daughter called for an ambulance, which then took Eberly to a hospital.
“Doctors there had me taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center because they said Dr. Zylak was the best,” Eberly says.
She would later comment on how much she liked Dr. Zylak because he’s Canadian like her. But being Canadian isn’t why his name is well-known among physicians throughout the region. It’s his skill and expansive knowledge of intricate procedures such as coiling (used to treat ruptured brain aneurysms and also to prevent ruptures) and clot retrieval, which can prevent permanent brain damage or death. Using the Merci Retrieval System, he removed Eberly’s clot with the corkscrew-like device. It was indeed a miracle for her; she woke up with some numbness in her right arm as the only lingering effect of her stroke. “That’s it,” she says, “and it doesn’t even really bother me.”
Within a few months, Eberly took her granddaughter and three great-grandchildren to Disneyland. She also has been on a road trip to Alaska since her episode and has a two-week cruise planned for May. It’s a good thing Dr. Zylak had the expertise needed to save Eberly’s life. After all, the woman who went sky-diving with “a good-looking guy my nieces picked out to be my jumping buddy,” still has a lot of living left to do.
A Role Model for Healing
Ethel Blackwell’s surgery to remove her gallbladder in February 2009 didn’t result in the “all-clear” report she anticipated. Instead, her surgeon found a significant tumor on her liver—a mass that couldn’t be removed easily because of its location near a main artery. Eager for an alternative to the risky surgery, Blackwell checked out treatment options in Seattle, only to return and discover that Jayson Brower, MD, could offer her a solution right here in Spokane.
“Ethel had a type of tumor that doesn’t typically respond well to chemotherapy, which left surgery or even a liver transplant as options, both of which would require extensive recovery,” explains Dr. Brower. “Because she didn’t want to face the risk of surgery and the lengthy recovery, I recommended two minimally invasive radiology procedures.”
Blackwell ended up having a Y90 embolization—radioactive beads fed by catheter to kill the tumor with radiation and choke off blood supply—to shrink the tumor. Y90 refers to yttrium, a radioactive particle that kills abnormal tumor cells while largely sparing the neighboring tissue.
She stayed overnight at the hospital after the first injection, but felt good and had no complaints. After her second injection, she didn’t need to stay at the hospital at all. Her only restriction, because of the radiation she was exposed to, was not to get too close to people or animals for five to seven days.
“I was expecting to really feel bad for a while, but that wasn’t the case,” she shares. “I have not had any pain from that tumor at all.”
The treatment hasn’t kept Blackwell from living the life she enjoys. At age 67, that includes everything from crafts and sewing to camping and riding four-wheelers with her grandkids.
“I haven’t slowed down a bit,” says Ethel Blackwell. “Having the Y90 treatments didn’t interrupt my life the way surgery does. People should know they have options.”
This process shrank the tumor enough to make surgery a good consideration if the patient wanted it removed completely, but since Blackwell had decided against getting that aggressive, Dr. Brower agreed to simply keep a close eye on her and ensure that the tumor continued to shrink. It did.
Because Blackwell developed some nodules outside the liver, Dr. Brower then did a cryoablation to freeze those cells. She now has no evidence of any cancer outside her liver and the tumor itself continues to decrease. The only complaint she has or other patients have after treatment is feeling tired for about two weeks.
“Sacred Heart is the only place to offer this in Spokane and even Seattle,” Dr. Brower notes. He recently saw a patient from Montana who had visited the Mayo Clinic and decided to come to Spokane instead.
Dr. Brower says Blackwell, who’s now 18 months out from her treatment, is “the poster child for the best possible outcome.
See the original article in Heartbeat Magazine.