Interventional radiology

Interventional radiology is a highly specialized field of medicine that uses medical imaging, such as X-rays, to provide targeted therapy.

You may hear it referred to as "pinhole surgery," because they are some of the most minimally invasive procedures offered. Each one is performed through a tiny nick in the skin, as opposed to large, open incisions.

Using their expertise and specialized imaging equipment, some of our interventional services include:

• Chemoembolization of liver tumors
• Diagnostic image-guided biopsies
• Dialysis fistula management
• Embolization to treat pelvic congestion syndrome
• Epidural steroid injection/nerve block
• Facet steroid injection
• Fallopian tube recanalization (FTR)
• Gastrostomy/gastrojejunostomy tube
• Minimally invasive cancer therapy
• Pain management
• Percutaneous nephrostomy tube
• Percutaneous tumor ablation
• Portacath placement
• Prostate artery embolization (PAE) for enlarged prostates
• Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) yttrium-90 (Y-90) embolization of liver tumors
• Spine treatments for injured or collapsed vertebrae
• Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure
• Ureteral stent
• Varicocele embolization

Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE)

Interventional radiology now offers uterine fibroid embolization (UFE). This is an alternative to a hysterectomy or other surgery if you are dealing with uterine fibroids (growths that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus).

UFE blocks the blood flow to the tumor, which causes the fibroids to shrink and die but leaves the rest of the uterus healthy. This is one interventional radiology procedure that requires you to be kept overnight in the hospital for monitoring. However, UFE generally involves less hormone therapy — compared to what is needed after a hysterectomy — following treatment.

Spine interventions

Our teams specialize in vertebral augmentation, including kyphoplasty, vertebroplasty and sacroplasty. These neuroradiology procedures help you recover from injured or collapsed vertebrae. Using fluoroscopy, a cement-like mixture is inserted into the affected portion of the spine to keep it from compressing again. These techniques are particularly useful if you have weak or brittle bones.

Post-surgery, you experience rapid pain relief and improved quality of life, needing little to no physical therapy or rehabilitation.

Pulmonary artery thrombolysis/thrombectomy

A pulmonary artery thrombolysis/thrombectomy is a minimally invasive technique in which a catheter is inserted into the artery with the assistance of an ultrasound. Once in place, the interventional radiology team either dissolves the blood clot using medication or removes the blood clot, restoring blood flow. This technique is useful for treating certain types of strokes, allowing us to offer you advanced stroke treatment when you need it most.

Thrombolysis for DVT management

Catheter-directed thrombolysis is a state-of-the-art procedure for the treatment and prevention of thrombosis — the formation of blood clots inside a blood vessel. This is an image-guided procedure in which a clot-busting drug is injected directly into the blood clot. The procedure prevents damage to tissues and organs and improves blood flow.

Endovascular aneurysm repairs (EVAR)

EVAR is an alternative to open surgery that treats aortic disease with fewer risks and complications. The procedure is most commonly used to treat an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

Interventional oncology involves minimally invasive cancer treatments. It is typically used to help if you have cancer that cannot be surgically removed or effectively treated with systematic chemotherapy. Treatment options include radiofrequency ablation (RFA) (killing the tumor with heat) and cryoablation (destroying cancer cells with cold).

Some of our interventional oncology procedures include:

• Chemoembolization
• Complex biopsies
• Drug-eluting bead embolization
• Tumor ablation
• Tumor embolization

Y-90 radioembolization with chemotherapy

We are proud to offer you access to this innovative therapy. Y-90 delivers one dose of internal radiation up to 40 times higher than conventional external beam therapy while simultaneously sparing healthy tissue. It delivers radiation directly into liver tumors by using the tumor’s own blood supply. This maximizes the treatment’s effectiveness and reduces the risk of injury to healthy tissue.