CT guided biopsies and drainages:

Two CT Fluoroscopy units are now installed on the 64 and 16 slice Toshiba CT scanners at the Hospital.  These units now allow the rapid targeting of deep cancers for direct tissue fine needle aspiration biopsies by the Radiologist, or for the placement of large bore drainage catheters deep, but safely, into the abdomen or thorax to evacuate abscesses and other pathological fluid collections. 

 Most often, these CT guided techniques are performed as outpatient procedures, with the patient awake, always with local anesthetic and most often with additional conscious sedation. Most often, the patients do go home the same day. In the past, before these minimally invasive image guided procedures were available, open abdominal or thoracic surgeries were required, involving days or weeks of in-hospital recovery.