CARMEL, Ind. — A new addition to a Carmel health care facility could provide more options and less recovery time for patients.
Northwest Radiology Network launched its Vascular and Interventional Physicians (VIP) division. Doctors in this specialty focus on minimally invasive procedures and surgical alternatives.
For recent patient Shannon Frazier, it offered an alternative treatment for her uterine fibroids.
Frazier said she was referred to VIP by her doctor after learning she'd likely need a hysterectomy.
The operation is typically an in-patient surgery followed by weeks of recovery.
"I was like, I just don't have that type of time," Frazier said. "But if that's the answer to get relief from what I was going through, then that's just what I have to do."
But before moving forward with the surgery, Frazier said her doctor believed she'd be a good candidate for a procedure called uterine fibroid embolization (UFE).
Frazier, like many women, was not familiar with this option. However, interventional radiologist Dr. Josh Dowell explained that it's not a new procedure, but also said it has become more common in the last 10-15 years.
UFE is a non-surgical way to shrink fibroids, which are benign tumors in the uterus that cause bleeding, pain and pressure.
"There's no stitches, there's no incision, this is purely through a needle stick," Dowell said.
"You're recovering in your own bed that night instead of the hospital, and our list of complications is much less than some of these more invasive surgeries," said Dowell's colleague, Dr. Vincent Flanders.
Instead of a 6-8 week recovery time, Frazier ended up being able to go home the same day, and now highly recommends to procedure to other women experiencing symptoms from which she once suffered. While she found success through UFE, the facility offers a range of less invasive surgery options.
"The exciting thing is that we are offering these types of procedures for a variety of different disease processes," Flanders said, which includes men's health procedures and oncology treatments.
Flanders said the alternatives often appeal to patients as a less expensive option.
"In our out-patient lab, the hysterectomy, compared to if we did the exact same procedure in the hospital, costs about a third, so it's a very significant cost savings," Flanders said.