PRE-OPERATIVE ANGIOEMBOLISATION (RCC, AML)
What is pre-operative angioembolisation?
- It is a procedure to reduce blood supply of tumor.
- Many of the renal tumors that have a large and extensive blood supply. So sometimes excision surgery is more difficult and risky due to high vascularity, large size and invasion to adjacent blood vessels or organs.
- Most common tumors include
- RCC (Renal cell carcinoma)
- AML (Angiomyolipoma)
Why it is necessary:
- Aim of procedure is reducing risk of bleeding during surgery and making complete excision of tumor feasible (better visualisation of tumor margin during surgery so complete removal possible).
How it is performed:
- Procedure usually performed 24-48 hr before surgery, by which blood supply of tumor is completely stop or decrease.
- In angioembolisation, a catheter is placed into arteries supplying the tumor. Material is injected to block off the blood supply to the tumor.
- There are many different kinds of materials available for this, depending on the type of tumor, its location, and the size of the blood vessels.
Preparation for procedure:
- Few basic blood investigations like CBC, PT/INR, viral markers.
- Bring all the records including imaging record.
- Signing consent form.
What are risks:
- Very few and rare; non-target embolization, infection (<1 case in 1000).
