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Hello patients and friends!
Many of you might have seen me in a New Haven Register article or featured in a Yale Medicine video recently. As you might know, I have been performing prostate embolization (PAE) for several years now, and I wanted to share my experience with this procedure so that patients who are likely to benefit from PAE can be treated appropriately. On the day of the New Haven Register interview, I sat down with health columnist Ed Stannard. We discussed my views on the pros and cons of prostate embolization, and the important role that interventional radiologists like myself will play in the future of prostate care. Some of my former patients even shared their experiences with the procedure. Check out the article today! I was also featured in an informative video created by Yale Medicine. In this video, I explain how the procedure works, and one of my patients describes how prostate embolization helped relieve his urinary retention from an enlarged prostate gland. Watch the video and learn about other patient experiences here. If you or someone you know might benefit from a consultation, please contact me to make an appointment today. I look forward to meeting you. Yours, Raj Ayyagari MD
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Hello patients and friends!
I was recently a featured guest on Yale's Cancer Answers podcast. Although I'm most known for my experience with prostate embolization, I also pride myself in practicing the full suite of interventional radiology. Listen to the recording below for my thoughts on minimally invasive therapies for treating cancer, and visit the Yale Cancer Answers podcast page to hear from some of my colleagues. Call or email today to schedule an appointment to see if an interventional radiology procedure could be right for you! Yours, Raj Ayyagari MD Hello patients and friends!
This has been an exciting week in the world of BPH because of a major announcement by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Thursday, June 22, the FDA officially approved a product, Merit Medical’s Embospheres, to be used in the prostatic artery embolization (PAE) procedure to treat enlarged prostates without invasive surgery. Over the past several years, I have worked with leaders in the field of interventional radiology to refine my technique to improve the safety and effectiveness of prostate embolization. As the most experienced PAE provider in the Northeastern United States, I have seen many of my own patients suffer from weak stream, incomplete emptying, frequent urination, and blood in their urine. After a consultation to determine if they are good candidates for the procedure, I have helped dozens of patients get their lives back again with this minimally-invasive procedure (watch testimonial). Based on my experience with this procedure, I feel that increased awareness of PAE and its availability as an option in the physician’s toolkit is a step forward for patients everywhere. I look forward to the next chapter of care for men with enlarged prostates. With improved access to PAE and a greater opportunity to understand patient outcomes, we are poised to help millions of men who suffer from BPH. I started this website so that patients, family members, and other healthcare providers can learn more about enlarged prostates, prostate embolization, and the world of interventional radiology. Please “like” the Raj Ayyagari MD Facebook page to hear about new blog posts and developments in our field. If you or someone you know suffers from an enlarged prostate and would like medical advice, please contact the number below to make an appointment. Make an appointment with Raj Ayyagari MD today! Note: Although the advice on this page and others provides general medical knowledge, each patient should seek a one-on-one consultation with a physician for the best individualized care. Hello! This is my blog, where I'll be sharing stories about myself and reviewing topics that patients might be interested in learning more about. Be sure to check in and comment occasionally with what you'd like to see.
I am a board-certified Interventional Radiologist, which means I perform image-guided minimally invasive surgical procedures. These procedures are done by passing a specialized needle or catheter into a quarter-inch hole in the skin, and from there I use radiographic, ultrasound, or CT-scan guidance to steer my instruments through blood vessels or soft tissues into the organ that I wish to treat. Almost every procedure can be done with IV sedation medication alone, so the patient does not need general anesthesia. Most patients usually can return home the same day with only a small bandage on, and they can often can go back to their normal activities after only a day or two of recovery at home. I graduated with a B.A. degree in Behavioral Biology from Swarthmore College in 1996. After completing two-and-a-half years of Peace Corps service in the Andes mountains and Amazon rain forests of Ecuador, I went to Yale School of Medicine, where I graduated with an M.D. degree in 2004. I completed the first two years of Urology residency at the University of Washington, followed by residency in Diagnostic Radiology and fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital/ Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. After finishing my training in 2011, I came back to Yale, where I have been on faculty as an Assistant Professor and a staff interventional radiologist at Yale New Haven Hospital ever since. I perform procedures in every part of the body, but I specialize in some remarkable minimally invasive procedures that are available to treat problems that patients have in their urinary, and reproductive organ systems, problems that can severely impact quality of life or even life expectancy. These procedures can treat such problems successfully and safely, while allowing patients to avoid more invasive surgery. Prostatic artery embolization (PAE) is a remarkable procedure that has been around now for about 6 years. It is a safe and highly effective yet minimally invasive outpatient procedure that shrinks the prostate dramatically. This helps older men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) regain the ability to urinate normally again, without having to go through invasive surgeries like a TURP (Trans-Urethral Resection of Prostate) or prostatectomy. This is truly a revolutionary procedure that has helped many men regain control of their lives, after suffering from what can become a severe medical condition that controls one's life. For both younger and older male patients with large dilated veins in their scrotum, and common problem known as a varicocele, I also perform a safe and highly effective and minimally invasive outpatient procedure that closes these veins and shrinks them down. This procedure is a way to treat the pain, cosmetic problems, or even concerns for fertility (ability to have children) that can plague patients with this condition. I encourage you to contact me further if you or someone you know has one of these issues that you think I could help with. |
AuthorDr. Raj Ayyagari is a board-certified interventional radiologist based in New Haven, Connecticut, who specializes in minimally invasive procedures of the genitourinary system. Archives
September 2017
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