Key to minimally invasive measures in Puerto Rico

Through Medicine and Public Health, Dr. Enrique Sabatere Pujol, Vascular and Interventional Radiologist, explained the benefits of the procedures being performed from his specialty, ensuring that these procedures become more important every day due to the few consequences that the patient experiences afterwards.

Senior Physician at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Physician at University of Comprehensive Cancer Center Puerto Rico He indicated that Interventional Radiology It is the person who uses the images to guide procedures and give the patient an appropriate and personalized diagnosis and treatment.

That’s why Sabatier Pujol pointed out that this type of study is one of the most recent in medicine, since the first procedures began in the 1950s, and that’s why the benefits revolutionized medicine and the effect was reflected in the use of minimally invasive procedures. .

“The main benefits are that the interventions are ambulatory and because we don’t have to cut the patient and use the needles and catheters that have been intervened by us, they recover faster,” said Dr. Sapater.

Another benefit, noted by the expert, is shown in costs and effectiveness for both the patient and the health system.

In another supportive point made by the specialist, he noted that this specialty and its techniques are favorable for individualizing the treatment of the patient, “since often the procedure cannot be written in books, but the possession of equipment, experience and creativity of the specialist is achieved to obtain a result.”

Interventional Radiology and its contribution to other diseases

According to Dr. Sapatir Pujol, the Interventional Radiology He participates in various medical specialties related to vascular and non-vascular problems, i.e. as long as the patient can be supported with non-surgical procedures related to his condition.

“We are more focused on diagnosing tumors, because biopsies are less invasive for the patient and this allows us to provide a more effective treatment. We can also intervene in brain aneurysms, where nearly 50 percent of patients recover and go home quietly because our operation is not invasive.” .

Briefly procedures Interventional Radiology They work alongside interventional cardiologists, oncologists, vascular surgeons, urologists, neurosurgeons, and nephrologists.

“Generally the radiologist has the training to perform all of these procedures, however the mentioned specialists are experts in their field and many of them are specialists in the procedures,” he said.

Vocational training and the future in Puerto Rico

“On Puerto Rico What one can see is how little by little surgical procedures have been replaced by procedures thanks to Interventional RadiologyThe specialist explained, noting that by 2007 the island had 6 specialists in the area and that by 2021 there were already 16 professionals.

So he predicts a promising future for this specialty, as the benefits of this practice are certain for patients and their recovery.

See the full interview: