Piedmont Mountainside Hospital Celebrates National Radiologic Technology Week

JASPER, Ga. (Oct. 30, 2009) – Each year radiologic technologists around the country join in celebrating National Radiologic Technology Week, an event that commemorates the discovery of the x-ray and recognizes the dedicated professionals practicing in the radiologic sciences.  This year, Piedmont Mountainside Hospital (PMH) wants to recognize its radiology staff for their exceptional work and patient care during the week of Nov. 8-14.

Piedmont Mountainside Hospital offers interventional radiology, unique non-invasive techniques used to assess patients’ health conditions or treat pain. Interventional radiology can often be an option for patients that should not receive surgical treatments for health reasons, and can provide the same results as a surgery.

One example of interventional radiology is vascular scanning, which assesses the blood flow in arteries and veins throughout the body. Vascular scanning is used to detect plaque which may cause narrowing in the arteries that supply blood to the brain, and may lead to strokes or mini-strokes. Patients should consider this type of ultrasound if intense, cramping pains occur in the calves, thigh, buttocks or hips.

Kyphoplasty, which is a minimally invasive spinal surgery procedure used to treat pain, is also an interventional radiology procedure. It is most commonly performed for spinal compression fractures caused by osteoporosis, a condition that weakens the bone, or other conditions that may have led to a spinal fracture.

“For true informed consent before surgery, patients should be aware of all of their treatment options,” said Roly Alvarez, radiology services manager at Piedmont Mountainside Hospital. “Patients considering surgical treatment should consider seeing an interventional radiologist to determine if he or she could benefit from a non-invasive procedure.”

Piedmont Mountainside Hospital wants to raise awareness in the community of the importance of radiology services such as mammography and sonography to be proactive in health conditions, as well as the option of interventional radiology for a patient that has been informed they must undergo surgical procedures.

The PMH Imaging Center offers a range of health services including routine x-rays, diagnostic radiology, CT, MRI, nuclear medicine, interventional radiology, mammography, bone density screening and ultrasound.  For more information call 706-301-5401 or visit piedmontmountainsidehospital.org.