After you arrive for your appointment, you will be escorted to a procedure room, where you will be asked to change into a patient gown. You will be positioned on an exam table, and fluoroscopy will be used to evaluate the joint and determine the most appropriate needle entry site. The radiologist will cleanse the overlying skin, and a small amount of local anesthetic (lidocaine) will be injected with a small needle. You will feel a tiny pinch similar to a pinprick while the anesthetic is injected.
After the area becomes numb, the radiologist will insert a needle into the joint while observing under fluoroscopy to ensure proper placement. A small amount of contrast material may be injected through the needle into your joint to confirm proper needle placement. An anesthetic medication, a steroid medication, or both will then be injected into the joint. The needle will then be removed.
The contrast agent that may be used is an iodine-based material. Radiology Ltd. uses only non-ionic contrast agents (the safest kind), but with all contrast agents there is always the potential for allergic reaction. Be sure to tell your technologist if you have experienced a reaction to CT contrast in the past.
For your safety and the protection of others, we do not allow anyone other than patients in our exam rooms.
