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Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiology is the term for many types of specialized procedures that are performed using image guidance such as CT, ultrasound, fluoroscopy and MRI. Such procedures include angiography, biopsies, catheter/line placements, stent placements, drain placements, embolizations, ablations, vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty and varicose vein treatments.
Interventional radiology is used to diagnose and treat many conditions throughout the body, including the vascular system, the urinary tract, the intestinal tract, the skeletal system, the chest and the abdomen. Minimally invasive techniques like endovenous laser treatment and sclerotherapy are performed at BryanLGH by fellowship-trained interventional radiologists and provide effective treatment of varicose veins with no hospital stay, no scarring, minimal post procedural pain, and nearly immediate relief of symptoms.
Other procedures include:
- Vascular procedures, including diagnostic angiography or viewing the vessels of the body.
- Angioplasty, a procedure that manually widens a narrowed or totally-blocked blood vessel.
- Embolizations, done in interventional radiology as a minimally-invasive alternative to surgery. The purpose of an embolization is to prevent blood flow to an area of the body, which effectively can shrink a tumor or block an aneurysm.
- Chemoembolizations, embolizations done with the use of chemotherapy for areas of the body where there are tumors.
- Thrombolysis, performed on patients who have blood clots. The interventional radiology team uses medications that can dissolve the clot and restore the necessary blood flow. Vena caval filtration is used to prevent clots from entering the heart, lungs and brain.
- Vascular access procedures, often done in interventional radiology to provide quick and easy vein access for medications and dialysis.
- Stent placements, to keep a vessel open for blood flow.
- Urinary procedures, including biopsies, nephrostomies (a look at the kidneys and its functions), internal drainages, abscess drain placements, tube maintenance and retrievals.
- Intestinal procedures, including biliary or liver drain patients, gallbladder drains, biopsies of the liver, pancreas, and abdomen, feeding tube placements and abscess drainages.
- Vertebral (spine) and other bone biopsies, joint aspirations and arthrograms.
