Getting to Know Dr. Ayyagari

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.