Radiation Therapy for Benign Conditions - Vascular Brachytherapy

Procedure Description:

Your cardiologist, together with the radiation oncologist, may decide that a high dose of radiation given to a small area of the blood vessel is the best way to reduce the possibility of repeated blockage or restenosis. Internal radiation therapy allows the doctor to give a higher total dose of radiation in a shorter time than is possible with external treatment. Radioactive material, sealed in a thin wire, catheter or tube, is place directly into the blood vessel, concentrating the radiation and lessening the damage to normal heart tissue.