We talk with interventional radiologist Dr. David Prologo about minimally invasive pain interventions, multidisciplinary pain management, and how he built a successful pain practice.

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SHOW NOTES

In this episode, host Dr. Michael Barraza interviews Dr. David Prologo, director of interventional radiology at Emory about minimally invasive pain interventions, multidisciplinary pain management, and how he created a booming practice that is well known by patients and providers nationally.

Dr. Prologo begins by discussing his training in obesity medicine and how his interests in pain management developed. He discusses his book, The Catching Point, which explores weight loss culture and the fault of society and medical providers in placing the blame on patients and the new options available in IR for weight loss. He says his interest in pain management was similar to his interest in obesity medicine. He was curious about how he could use his tools and skills as an IR to treat obesity and pain with minimally invasive procedures.

Next, they discuss how IR fits into the multidisciplinary team that plays a role in pain management. He explains that the combination of technology and an IRs position in the hospital makes them ideal for the job. He says a key is to maintain relationships with all other specialties by focusing initially on procedures that other specialties don't perform, in order to build rapport. He also notes that the procedures he performs result in rapid pain reduction and greatly decrease length of stay which is a huge incentive for hospitals and other specialties to seek out IR and make referrals.

Finally, the two discuss the types of patients Dr. Prologo treats, and the procedures he does. He divides patient population into neoplastic versus non neoplastic pain, and spine versus non spine pain. He sees 90% of patients in clinic for procedure planning. Dr. Prologo emphasizes the importance of advocating for patients and continuing to see them even if they do not need an IR procedure. He discusses his 8, 3, 3, 3 method for percutaneous cryoneurolysis and discusses the various outcomes he is able to achieve in pain reduction. Dr. Prologo minimizes non responders by doing test blocks, understanding central desensitization, and selecting patients for procedures appropriately.

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RESOURCES

Interventional Cryoneurolysis: An Illustrative Approach: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33308581/

Focused Cryo:
https://gra.org/company/213/Focused_Cryo.html

Nantes criteria for pudendal neuralgia:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17828787/

The Catching Point
https://www.catchingpoint.com

David Prologo Website:
https://www.drprologo.com/about