Many people mistakenly think radiology is used solely for diagnoses … not for life-enhancing procedures … but Dan Wunder, MD, is quick to disagree.

“I use cutting-edge technology guided by imaging to fix things,” said Wunder, who serves as chief of the Vascular & Interventional Division of Premier Radiology. The organization, a joint venture with Saint Thomas Health, has 13 radiology centers in Middle Tennessee with the facility on Briarville Road in Madison featuring the broadest range of services and procedures.

“Our Briarville location is the most comprehensive interventional radiology center in this area,” said Wunder. “There are only about 100 like it across the nation. In addition to the usual services (CT, ultrasound, mammography, x-ray), we perform image-guided procedural studies. This includes far more than arterial revascularization. We can do everything from diagnosing tumors with biopsies and providing venous access for chemotherapy to treating painful compression fractures of the back.”

There are only a few vascular procedures – such as carotid stents and fixing aortic aneurysms – that require hospitalization. Many procedures can now be performed using minimally invasive technologies in an outpatient setting. One of the most common procedures is the atherectomy. “That’s where we cut the plaque out of an artery and remove it from the body to restore blood flow to the legs,” said Wunder. “I explain it to my patients as ‘Roto-rootering’ the artery.”

Atherectomies can help alleviate leg pain caused by peripheral arterial disease (PAD). “We offer a free PAD screening, and we check to make sure there’s no major blockage in the arteries,” said Wunder. “An atherectomy takes about two hours, and the patient walks out of the center without the painful leg cramping because we’ve cleaned out the plaque and made sure that blood is flowing properly to the leg.”

Wunder noted there could be many root causes for leg pain, including arthritis, varicose veins and pinched nerves in the back, but the usual culprit is arterial plaque.

“A lot of patients think, ‘I’m getting older … I’ve just got to live with this pain,’ so they’ve never had an evaluation,” said Wunder. “At Premier, the screening doesn’t cost them a cent. If we find something abnormal, we send a report to the primary care physician and proceed from there. There’s no reason for people to suffer leg pain when it’s totally fixable.”

Premier screenings also help patients get a better understanding of their body-wide arterial health, including increased risk of stroke. “We can listen to the carotid artery that takes blood to the brain,” said Wunder. “We do a lot of carotid ultrasounds, plus arteriograms of carotid arteries at the Briarville center.”

Wunder added the Briarville office doesn’t operate like a hospital radiology department. “We’re not trying to see 16 patients a day,” he noted. “We concentrate on just a couple of major cases per day. That might involve doing some arteriograms – or maybe a kyphoplasty. That’s where we sedate a patient that has an acute vertebral compression fracture and percutaneously treat the fracture in about two hours so it doesn’t hurt them anymore.”

Because Briarville patients don’t have to navigate a multi-story building, underground parking garage or busy admitting area, Wunder said they seem pleased with the Premier experience. “They always get the personal touch,” he added. “We have plenty of time to explain things to them, and they get pictures of the procedures to take home with them. It’s the kind of experience I’d want to have if I were in their shoes.”

In a radiologist’s world, an array of images sometimes takes the place of human interaction – something that Premier guards against. Personal experience has taught Wunder that healing is not just about the skill of the physician or the technology involved in the treatment. “The human touch has a powerful effect on healing and trust-building,” he said. “That’s the way we do it at Premier.”

Wunder grew up in a town of 4,000 in rural South Dakota. His family had a 5,000-acre farm so it isn’t surprising that he now lives on a 30-acre farm in Hendersonville. He and his wife Melinda have a blended family of five boys ranging in age from 10 to 20. The oldest has raced through college and has already been accepted into medical school for next year.

In addition to chickens and horses, the Wunder farm includes some pretty exotic animals for Tennessee. The family raises miniature Zebu cows and Nigerian dwarf goats. “The goats are like little dogs – very sweet and tame,” Wunder said.

When not working hard on the farm, the family likes to vacation in the Caribbean, where they enjoy scuba diving and deep-sea fishing. They’ve even accomplished what few (other than Ernest Hemingway) have achieved: reeling in a shark.

His family’s boundless energy makes Wunder appreciate that Premier helps patients enjoy greater vitality, too. “These are life-changing and life-enhancing conditions we’re treating,” he said. “We help patients who find it too painful to walk get back on their feet again. Radiology is much more than looking at images. It helps dramatically improve patients’ lives.”