Radiology

Location Change - The Breast Center has moved to 155 Borthwick, West Building, Suite 101.

• All mammograms will be at The Breast Center, now at 155 Borthwick Avenue, West Building, Suite 101
• All biopsies and breast MRI's at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, 333 Borthwick Avenue

The Breast Center at Portsmouth Regional Hospital brings our breast care services together - mammography, stereotactic, ultrasound and breast MRIs. Our mammography department is fully accredited by the American College of Radiology, our MRI unit performs gadolinium-enhanced breast scans, and we use the stereotactic system, MRI and ultrasound for breast biopsies -- a state-of-the-art, minimally invasive technique for early diagnosis of breast cancer. 

Our Breast Center offers two digital mammography units, combined with a Computer-Aided Detection checker that reviews images and provides an additional check for the radiologist. Portsmouth Regional Hospital is the only facility in New Hampshire offering both state-of-the-art technologies, and the addition of a second digital system has made breast care at Portsmouth even more efficient for our patients.

Our breast MRI services also feature a computer-aided detection checker from Invivo, called DynaCAD, that provides radiologists with a comprehensive solution for significantly improved workflow and increased diagnostic confidence.

Digital mammography is accurate, fast, and offers greater flexibility and magnification for women with denser breast tissue. Breast images captured by computerization rather than film are clear and easy to read, and can give better visibility, especially near the skin line. The image is ready to read within seconds. Women no longer have to wait while the films are developed to be sure the images are diagnostic, which means the test can take as little as half the time of a film mammogram.

Our Breast Center combines the advanced technology of digital mammography with the warmth and softness of MammoPads, which ease the discomfort that women may experience during mammograms.

Portsmouth Regional Hospital now offers the Comprehensive Cardiac Scan as a direct-to-consumer service available through our Radiology Department.

Both men and women can benefit from a Comprehensive Cardiac Scan. Cardiac scanning uses CT technology to provide a detailed picture of the heart and an early warning about calcifications and blockages to the heart's arteries, so there is time to consult with a physician and take action to prevent a heart attack. Cardiac scanning is easy, painless and non-invasive. Performed in a single sweep, the complete test, including consultation with a Board-certified radiologist, takes about an hour.

The Comprehensive Cardiac Scan is a screening tool for people who have not been previously diagnosed with heart disease. It should never take the place of other diagnostic testing recommended by your doctor.
The Comprehensive Cardiac Scan is a private-pay service not covered by health insurance, so a physician referral is not necessary. Please call 603-433-4964, Monday-Friday, 8:30AM - 5:00 PM for more information or to make an appointment

Interventional radiologists specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments performed using imaging guidance. They are often a good alternative to surgery because they involve tiny incisions, less risk, less pain and shorter recovery times.

Interventional radiologists (IR's) use their expertise in reading X-rays, ultrasound and other medical images to guide small instruments such as catheters through the blood vessels or other pathways to treat disease.  Interventional Radiologists are board certified radiologists who are fellowship trained in performing medical procedures involving radiology.  Their specialized training is certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties.

The improved ability of radiologists to see inside the body gave rise to interventional radiology in the mid-1970's. Interventional radiologists invented angioplasty and the first catheter-delivered stent, which was first used in the legs to save patients with vascular disease from amputation or other surgery.

Interventional radiology is particularly valuable in dissolving and removing blood clots in the veins without surgery.  In some circumstances, it is an invaluable emergency treatment for strokes caused by a blood clot (ischemic strokes).

Interventional Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis is a procedure that injects "clot busting" drugs (thrombolytic agents) directly into the site of a blood clot.  Performed in a hospital radiology suite, our interventional radiologist inserts a catheter into a vein in the leg and threads it to the site of the clot. With his special training as a radiologist, the doctor is able to expertly guide and watch the progress of the procedure on an X-ray video monitor. When the catheter tip is in the clot, the clot-dissolving drug is sent (infused) through the catheter tube.

Using special X-rays, called venograms, and ultrasound scans, the interventional radiologist can "see" and monitor the treatment.  After the clot dissolves, the radiologist can tell if the vein wall is narrowed or damaged, which can lead to more clots in the future.

If a vein has been narrowed or damaged, the interventional radiologist or other physician may perform a balloon angioplasty, a procedure in which a catheter is placed in the vein under X-ray guidance.  A balloon is inflated to press open the narrowed blood vessel and a small mesh cylinder called a stent may be inserted and left behind in the vein to keep it open.

When you're having a stroke, time is brain. Immediate emergency intervention is vitally important to prevent damage to brain tissue.
But not all strokes are ischemic strokes (caused by a blood clot in the brain or carotid artery). 17% of strokes are hemorrhagic (a bleed caused by a ruptured blood vessel). Treating a hemorrhagic stroke with clot-busting drugs can cause more harm than good, so rapid diagnosis is vitally important. 

Moving swiftly as part of the emergency stroke team, our Radiology Department uses an angiogram to pinpoint the site of the blockage or hemorrhage. When a clot has caused the stroke, treatment with clot-busting drugs can work quickly to restore blood flow.

In 2005, the Portsmouth Regional Hospital's Radiology Department began treating ischemic strokes (in certain cases) by injecting clot busting drugs directly into the blocked site in the brain or carotid artery. Traditional clot-busting drug treatments are slower and generally less effective, because it takes time for the drug injected elsewhere in the body to reach the target site. 

In 2006, we introduced another remarkable technique called the Merci Stroke Treatment System, which allows the interventional radiologist to mechanically retrieve blood clots from the brain and carotid artery. Using a tiny device guided by a catheter, the radiologist ensnares the blockage and pulls it out, restoring vital blood flow.

Vertebroplasty & Balloon Kyphoplasty

Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are image-guided, minimally invasive, non-surgical procedures for strengthening a broken vertebra (spinal bone).  Untreated, spinal fractures (also known as vertebral compression fractures) can cause crippling back pain and deformity. 
A spinal fracture occurs when one of the bones in the spinal column weakens and collapses due to osteoporosis or, less commonly, cancer. 

Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty can increase the patient's functional abilities, alleviate pain, allow a return to the previous level of activity, and prevent further vertebral collapse.  Patients generally recover very quickly and feel an immediate improvement in comfort and mobility.  

At Portsmouth Regional Hospital, vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty are usually performed on an outpatient basis by an interventional radiologist.  Vertebroplasty is accomplished by injecting an orthopedic cement mixture through a needle into the fractured bone.  Image guided x-ray, along with a small amount of x-ray dye, allows the position of the needle to be seen at all times. Balloon Kyphoplasty uses a tiny orthopedic balloon to open up the collapsed vertebra so that it can then be filled with orthopedic cement. 

These procedures are performed under general or local anesthesia and typically take less than an hour for each spinal fracture treated.