Doctors treat brain and spinal disorders without surgery

Turkish doctors are using interventional neuroradiology to treat strokes, aneurysms and spinal disorders without surgery, helping patients recover faster.

The minimally invasive methods use needles and catheters instead of surgical incisions, avoiding general anaesthesia and long hospital stays while treating conditions including herniated discs, spinal fractures, spinal tumours and brain aneurysms.

Interventional neuroradiology – which combines imaging technology with minimally invasive procedures – is split into endovascular applications for blood vessels and treatments involving the spine and spinal cord.

Professor Dr Turgut Talı, president of the Turkish Society of Neuroradiology, said the field is among medicine’s fastest-developing areas.

For spinal disorders, herniated discs can be treated without open surgery.

Using a needle and thin device, tissue may be destroyed with heat or cold, frozen or removed piece by piece.

Similar methods are used for age-related spinal changes that cause pain or restricted mobility, and special cages or metallic devices can be inserted into discs or narrowed spaces between vertebrae to relieve pain.

“We insert the needle directly, apply radio waves or freezing and inject medications as needed.

These methods are minimally invasive and avoid open surgery entirely,” Talı said.

Spinal fractures from osteoporosis, falls or accidents can be repaired by injecting bone cement through one or two needles to restore vertebra height.

Patients may only need local anaesthesia and can walk home the same day.

Bone and spinal tumours are also treated in this way, with drugs or targeted ablation delivered via a needle.

“Collapsed vertebrae, spinal deformities and many other conditions are now treated without incisions or surgery,” Talı added, noting that unlike traditional operations, hospitalisation is usually unnecessary.

Brain aneurysms – weak bulges in blood vessels that may burst – can also be treated with these techniques.

Instead of open surgery requiring skull bone removal, intensive care and general anaesthesia, a catheter is inserted through the groin or arm to deliver materials that seal the aneurysm.

“The procedure is complete in a short time, and patients recover quickly. Aneurysms and vascular malformations are now treated almost entirely with these minimally invasive methods,” Talı said.

Professor Dr Cem Çallı, president of the European Neuroradiology Society, said neuroradiology enables detailed imaging of the brain and spinal cord. Stroke treatment is a critical application, allowing clots to be removed quickly and preventing paralysis.

Brain and spinal tumour diagnosis and surgical planning also benefit.

Interventional radiology, often described as “surgery without a scalpel,” has reduced the need for traditional operations.

“Patients recover faster, avoid lengthy hospital stays, and the socio-economic burden of care is decreased.

New techniques now extend the optimal treatment window for stroke from six hours to 24 hours,” Çallı said.

The advances mean many conditions once requiring major surgery can now be treated through small punctures, with patients often returning home the same day.