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What is Interventional Radiology?

What is interventional radiology?

Interventional radiology is a rapidly growing approach that uses special equipment— like X-ray, CT-scan, ultrasound, and/or MRI — to help doctors see exactly what needs fixing without having to do major cutting. Instead, they make small incisions — just large enough to pass small catheters, wires, or needles into the body — to investigate, treat or biopsy an area.

Because it is so much less invasive, your recovery times are faster, so you most likely won’t need to stay overnight in the hospital.

What Are Common Types of Procedures that Use Interventional Radiology?

ANGIOGRAPHY

Takes an X-ray of the arteries or veins by inserting a catheter into a blood vessel and injecting it with X-ray dye—called contrast agent—to see what’s happening inside your blood vessels. Doctors use the images angiography produces to check for blockages and other blood vessel problems.

ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULA/GRAFT EVALUATION AND INTERVENTION

Combines several techniques (like angiography, balloon angioplasty, tenting, and thrombolysis) to improve blood flow through a fistula or graft—a necessary process for the patient to get hemodialysis.  Hemodialysis—also known as dialysis for short—is a procedure that takes on the role of the kidneys by removing toxins from the blood when the kidneys can’t.

BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY

Opens blocked or narrowed blood vessels by inserting and inflating a very small balloon.

BILIARY DRAINAGE AND STENTING

Uses a stent (which is a small mesh tube) to open up blocked biliary ducts to allow bile to drain from the liver.

BIOPSY

Is a procedure that collects a small sample of tissue for pathologic evaluation. Doctors often order biopsies when an initial test suggests an area of tissue in the body is abnormal.

BREAST BIOPSIES (MAMMOTOME/STEREOTACTIC/MRI)

As with standard biopsies, your doctor will remove a small piece of tissue from your tumor to see if it is cancerous. Breast biopsies sometimes use specialized equipment.

CENTRAL VENOUS ACCESS

Involves the insertion of a catheter into a vein so that patients can receive medication or nutrients directly into the blood stream. This procedure also allows for easy blood draws.

CHEMOEMBOLIZATION

Involves blocking the blood supply to a tumor after anti-cancer drugs are applied. Sometimes the drugs themselves are attached to small beads that block the blood flow as they release the drug. Blocking the blood flow helps to starves the tumor of nutrients while it is receiving the drug, which may kill more cancer cells. It is most commonly used to treat cancers of the endocrine system and liver and often causes fewer side effects than other treatments.

CHEST TUBE INSERTION

Allows a doctor to place a small, hollow, flexible tube in your chest to act as a drain. It is usually used to drain blood, fluid or air from the area around your lungs, heart or esophagus.

CRYOABLATION

Destroys diseased tissue by essentially “freezing” it with extremely cold gas.  It is often less invasive than surgery and patients can go usually home the same day.

CRYOPLASTY (CRYO-BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY)

Opens up blocked or narrowed blood vessels by inserting and inflating a very small balloon that contains an extremely cold substance that freezes the surrounding tissue. The freezing lowers the chance of the blockage happening again.

DRAINAGE TUBE PLACEMENT

Inserts a drainage tube into an area where a lot of fluid has built up or where pus has collected. A collection of pus is called an abscess and is a sign of infection.

ENDOVASCULAR REPAIR OF AORTIC ANEURYSMS (STENT GRAFT REPAIR)

Reinforces a weak area in the aorta (called an aneurysm). A specialized stent made from fabric and wire mesh is inserted into the aorta to prevent further damage or rupture.

EMBOLIZATION

Delivers clotting agents (coils, gel foam, plastic particles, etc.) directly to an area that is bleeding. In addition, these agents can be used to block blood flow to problem areas, such as an aneurysm or uterine fibroids.

EPIDURAL STEROID INJECTION

Involves injecting steroid medication into a specific location in the spine to provide relief of pain.

GASTROSTOMY TUBE

Inserts a thin feeding tube into the stomach to provide food and fluids to those patients who are having trouble eating or swallowing.

HEMODIALYSIS ACCESS

Is a procedure that takes on the kidneys’ role of filtering out toxins from the blood when they either are unable to do so or can’t do the job completely.

LUMBAR PUNCTURE

To diagnose or rule out certain conditions, your doctor might need a sample of your cerebral spinal fluid. To get this sample, your doctor will insert a needle into your lower back to draw out fluid from the hollow space that surrounds your spinal cord.

MYELOGRAM (CERVICAL, THORACIC, AND/OR LUMBAR)

Allows the doctor to see the spinal cord and other structures more clearly than with standard X-rays. A contrast dye is injected into the spinal column before the procedure and appears on the X-ray screen to illuminate potential problems.

PARACENTESIS

Uses high-frequency sound waves, or ultrasound, to drain excess fluid from your belly either to diagnose a condition or to relieve symptoms.

PLEURADESIS

Is a procedure that causes the layers of tissue on top of your lung to form a scar and heal together, preventing more fluid from collecting on top of your lung. It involves injecting a medicine or chemical into your chest through a tube.

TUNNELED DRAINAGE CATHETER PLACEMENT (PLEURX OR ASPIRA)

Drains excess fluid from your lungs or in your belly by inserting a tube into the area where fluid has collected – either on top of your lungs or in your belly. This permits you or your doctor to drain the fluid repeatedly and frequently.

RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION

Is a minimally invasive technique that uses a slender probe to create energy and heat that kills cancer cells. This technique is also used to stop a nerve from sending pain signals to provide relief to people in chronic pain.

SELECTIVE INTERNAL RADIATION THERAPY

Is a treatment where doctors inject SIR-Spheres® microspheres, which are small beads that contain radiation or high energy, directly into the tumor to destroy cancer cells. One of the good things about SIRT is that it targets only the tumor without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue in the process.

STENT PLACEMENT

Inserts a small flexible tube made of plastic or wire mesh into the body to treat a variety of medical conditions. For example, doctors may insert stents in blood vessels or other areas that have been blocked or narrowed by tumors or other obstructions. Some stents, called drug-eluting stents, contain medication.

THORACENTESIS

Uses ultrasound, or high-frequency sound, to drain excess fluid from the space around your lung to help diagnose a disease and/or relieve symptoms.

THROMBOLYSIS

Describes the act of using medicine to break up a blood clot. You may be most familiar with its use to bust up clots in veins and arteries, but it’s also used in many other situations, like dialysis catheters and dialysis fistulas or grafts.

THROMBECTOMY

Removes a blood clot from a blood vessel—and often treats blood clots that form in the feet and legs (called “deep vein thrombosis”). Thrombectomy can also be used to treat blood clots that form in arteries that block blood flow to tissue.

TIPS (TRANS JUGULAR INTRAHEPATIC PORTOSYSTEMIC SHUNT)

Is a procedure used to treat high blood pressure in the veins that carry blood from the intestines to the liver. A stent is placed into a liver vein to form a channel (or shunt) that bypasses the liver and reduces pressure in the portal vein, thus lowering the risk of ruptures and bleeding in enlarged veins.

UTERINE ARTERY (FIBROID) EMBOLIZATION

Describes the act of blocking off a blood vessel with small particles—like beads or sponges. Doctors perform this procedure on uterine arteries to stop life-threatening bleeding after a woman gives birth, which could prevent hysterectomy. This procedure can also be used to treat uterine fibroids by blocking blood flow to the fibroids.

VENOUS ABLATION (EVLT)

Is a minimally invasive procedure that uses laser energy to seal a vein shut. It is not particularly painful and is commonly used to treat varicose veins.

VENA CAVA FILTER

Is a tiny cage-like device that your doctor inserts into a vein to trap blood clots to keep them from traveling to the heart and lungs.

VERTEBROPLASTY AND KYPHOPLASTY

Are fancy terms for a procedure that repairs a broken or cracked area in the thickest area of your vertebrae, called a vertebral body. To stabilize the vertebral body and relieve pain, doctors will inject bone cement (polymethyl methacrylate or “PMMA”) into the broken area.

Takes an X-ray of the arteries or veins by inserting a catheter into a blood vessel and injecting it with X-ray dye—called contrast agent—to see what’s happening inside your blood vessels. Doctors use the images angiography produces to check for blockages and other blood vessel problems.

Combines several techniques (like angiography, balloon angioplasty, tenting, and thrombolysis) to improve blood flow through a fistula or graft—a necessary process for the patient to get hemodialysis.  Hemodialysis—also known as dialysis for short—is a procedure that takes on the role of the kidneys by removing toxins from the blood when the kidneys can’t.

Opens blocked or narrowed blood vessels by inserting and inflating a very small balloon.

Uses a stent (which is a small mesh tube) to open up blocked biliary ducts to allow bile to drain from the liver.

Is a procedure that collects a small sample of tissue for pathologic evaluation. Doctors often order biopsies when an initial test suggests an area of tissue in the body is abnormal.

As with standard biopsies, your doctor will remove a small piece of tissue from your tumor to see if it is cancerous. Breast biopsies sometimes use specialized equipment.

Involves the insertion of a catheter into a vein so that patients can receive medication or nutrients directly into the blood stream. This procedure also allows for easy blood draws.

Involves blocking the blood supply to a tumor after anti-cancer drugs are applied. Sometimes the drugs themselves are attached to small beads that block the blood flow as they release the drug. Blocking the blood flow helps to starves the tumor of nutrients while it is receiving the drug, which may kill more cancer cells. It is most commonly used to treat cancers of the endocrine system and liver and often causes fewer side effects than other treatments.

Allows a doctor to place a small, hollow, flexible tube in your chest to act as a drain. It is usually used to drain blood, fluid or air from the area around your lungs, heart or esophagus.

Destroys diseased tissue by essentially “freezing” it with extremely cold gas.  It is often less invasive than surgery and patients can go usually home the same day.

Opens up blocked or narrowed blood vessels by inserting and inflating a very small balloon that contains an extremely cold substance that freezes the surrounding tissue. The freezing lowers the chance of the blockage happening again.

Inserts a drainage tube into an area where a lot of fluid has built up or where pus has collected. A collection of pus is called an abscess and is a sign of infection.

Reinforces a weak area in the aorta (called an aneurysm). A specialized stent made from fabric and wire mesh is inserted into the aorta to prevent further damage or rupture.

Delivers clotting agents (coils, gel foam, plastic particles, etc.) directly to an area that is bleeding. In addition, these agents can be used to block blood flow to problem areas, such as an aneurysm or uterine fibroids.

Involves injecting steroid medication into a specific location in the spine to provide relief of pain.

Inserts a thin feeding tube into the stomach to provide food and fluids to those patients who are having trouble eating or swallowing.

Is a procedure that takes on the kidneys’ role of filtering out toxins from the blood when they either are unable to do so or can’t do the job completely.

To diagnose or rule out certain conditions, your doctor might need a sample of your cerebral spinal fluid. To get this sample, your doctor will insert a needle into your lower back to draw out fluid from the hollow space that surrounds your spinal cord.

Allows the doctor to see the spinal cord and other structures more clearly than with standard X-rays. A contrast dye is injected into the spinal column before the procedure and appears on the X-ray screen to illuminate potential problems.

Uses high-frequency sound waves, or ultrasound, to drain excess fluid from your belly either to diagnose a condition or to relieve symptoms.

Is a procedure that causes the layers of tissue on top of your lung to form a scar and heal together, preventing more fluid from collecting on top of your lung. It involves injecting a medicine or chemical into your chest through a tube.

Drains excess fluid from your lungs or in your belly by inserting a tube into the area where fluid has collected – either on top of your lungs or in your belly. This permits you or your doctor to drain the fluid repeatedly and frequently.

Is a minimally invasive technique that uses a slender probe to create energy and heat that kills cancer cells. This technique is also used to stop a nerve from sending pain signals to provide relief to people in chronic pain.

Is a treatment where doctors inject SIR-Spheres® microspheres, which are small beads that contain radiation or high energy, directly into the tumor to destroy cancer cells. One of the good things about SIRT is that it targets only the tumor without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue in the process.

Inserts a small flexible tube made of plastic or wire mesh into the body to treat a variety of medical conditions. For example, doctors may insert stents in blood vessels or other areas that have been blocked or narrowed by tumors or other obstructions. Some stents, called drug-eluting stents, contain medication.

Uses ultrasound, or high-frequency sound, to drain excess fluid from the space around your lung to help diagnose a disease and/or relieve symptoms.

Describes the act of using medicine to break up a blood clot. You may be most familiar with its use to bust up clots in veins and arteries, but it’s also used in many other situations, like dialysis catheters and dialysis fistulas or grafts.

Removes a blood clot from a blood vessel—and often treats blood clots that form in the feet and legs (called “deep vein thrombosis”). Thrombectomy can also be used to treat blood clots that form in arteries that block blood flow to tissue.

Is a procedure used to treat high blood pressure in the veins that carry blood from the intestines to the liver. A stent is placed into a liver vein to form a channel (or shunt) that bypasses the liver and reduces pressure in the portal vein, thus lowering the risk of ruptures and bleeding in enlarged veins.

Describes the act of blocking off a blood vessel with small particles—like beads or sponges. Doctors perform this procedure on uterine arteries to stop life-threatening bleeding after a woman gives birth, which could prevent hysterectomy. This procedure can also be used to treat uterine fibroids by blocking blood flow to the fibroids.

Is a minimally invasive procedure that uses laser energy to seal a vein shut. It is not particularly painful and is commonly used to treat varicose veins.

Is a tiny cage-like device that your doctor inserts into a vein to trap blood clots to keep them from traveling to the heart and lungs.

Are fancy terms for a procedure that repairs a broken or cracked area in the thickest area of your vertebrae, called a vertebral body. To stabilize the vertebral body and relieve pain, doctors will inject bone cement (polymethyl methacrylate or “PMMA”) into the broken area.