Nonsurgical Tumor Treatment
The Nonsurgical Tumor Treatment Program at the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center offers a full range of minimally invasive, nonsurgical approaches to treat tumors of the bone, kidney, liver, lung and spine, including:
Minimally Invasive Techniques
Many benign and malignant tumors can be treated with minimally invasive techniques, which usually avoid the pain, discomfort and longer recovery times of traditional surgery. These procedures may require only limited anesthesia and can be a viable option for many individuals who are not candidates for surgery. Many of these techniques are performed in an outpatient setting with patients usually going home the same day.
Interventional radiologists Peter J. Julien, MD, and Ashley Wachsman, MD, in an interventional radiology suite
How Does the Procedure Work?
During an image-guided ablation an interventional radiologist, along with a team of imaging nurses and technologists, uses an imaging technology — usually a CT, an ultrasound or fluoroscopy — to locate a tumor. Once the image of the tumor and its location is available, the interventional radiologist uses the images to guide a catheter or a specialized needle-like probe into it. Through the catheter or the probe, a treatment is then applied to the tumor. In the case of chemoembolization, a chemotherapy medication is injected into the tumor; with radioembolization, small radioactive spheres are placed to deliver localized radiation therapy; microwave ablation uses microwaves to heat the tumor; and in cryoablation, cold is used to freeze the tumor. In each of these cases, the tumor is directly targeted, leaving most of the surrounding healthy tissue intact.
At the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center our team of highly-trained physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and technologists are led by Marc L. Friedman, MD, chief of Interventional Radiology, and Peter J. Julien, MD.
Why choose the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center for tumor ablation?
Are You A Candidate?
Optimal cancer care is provided by a team approach that includes not only the interventional radiologist, but your oncologist and primary care physician. To find out if you might be a candidate for one of these procedures, please click here.
The S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center provides a full range of advanced imaging, both radiology and cardiology, as well as interventional radiology and interventional tumor (oncology) treatments to the greater Los Angeles area, including Beverly Hills, Encino, Mid-Cities, Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, Studio City, Toluca Lake and West Hollywood.