Giulio, 17 years old, couldn't even sit for more than a few minutes without pain, he struggled to sleep due to the pain and could no longer play sports. A constant ailment caused by an arteriovenous malformation of the gluteal region, which the doctors of the Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute (Ior) in Bologna managed to resolve thanks to a mix of techniques performed in the institute's comfortable suite. A combined treatment of embolization and electrosclerotherapy which allowed the boy to be reborn to a new life.
After several procedures in another centre, including a surgical attempt which did not lead to positive results because the malformation returned – they explain from the Irccs – Giulio and his family turned to Rizzoli. Over time, various embolization treatments were performed at the IOR, interventional radiology operations during which certain blood vessels are selected and occluded, which alleviated the young man's pain without however completely resolving the symptoms that continued to appear at intervals of time. Last July, thanks to the new angio-suite which has been operational for a few months and acquired thanks to an investment of 2 million euros, it was possible to carry out a “one of a kind” treatment which “led to a clear improvement in Giulio's condition “, says Marco Miceli, director of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at Rizzoli.
The boy “has started playing sports again, sleeping well, leading an active life perfectly in line with his young age – underlines the specialist – Now we are in the follow-up phase to understand the effectiveness of this combo of treatments in the long term”, but “we can already say with certainty that to date it has proven to be the best solution”.
“We decided to perform embolization and electrosclerotherapy in a single session,” explains interventional radiologist Giancarlo Facchini. “A choice that would not have been feasible without an angio-suite that combines angiograph, computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound in the same interventional radiology room”, specifies the expert.
“Having noticed an improvement, but not in the long term, in Giulio's condition after embolization treatments alone – highlights Facchini – we decided to also act on the venous part and not just the arterial one, therefore also carrying out electrosclerotherapy, an experimental technique with the which the first patients were treated”. It consists of injecting a sclerosing drug into the malformation; subsequently, targeted electric discharges generate an electric field which allows better absorption of the drug by the cells of the malformation.
“Being able to apply innovative treatments thanks to the latest generation technology available is exciting – comments Anselmo Campagna, general director of Rizzoli – Embolization and electrosclerotherapy in a single access would have been an impossible practice without our angio-suite. Thanks to the angiograph, CT and ultrasound in a single room, and to the highly specialized staff, Rizzoli was able to offer the patient an innovative treatment in a simple day hospital. Our hope and our objective is to be able to continue to identify the best treatment for each of our patients, also thanks to the continuous research activity carried out in an Irccs, a scientific hospitalization and treatment institute, such as Rizzoli”.
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