The idea of a major surgery can be intimidating—it’s common to fear pain or side effects from anesthesia and worry about loss of time with family or at work due to recovery. While surgery is sometimes your best option, it’s worth asking whether your health concern can be addressed with interventional radiology.
“Interventional radiology is a broad field, encompassing image-guided interventions throughout the body,” says UNC Health interventional radiologist David Mauro, MD. “The benefit is that we can be minimally invasive and offer quicker recovery compared to open surgery, while dealing with relatively low risks.”
Dr. Mauro explains what you need to know about this option.
How Does Interventional Radiology Work?
During many interventional radiology procedures, your doctor makes a very small incision and inserts a catheter (a tiny tube) into your blood vessels. The doctor guides the catheter to the relevant area of your body and provides the necessary treatment with very small tools. All the while, your doctor monitors what’s happening inside your body via imaging, such as an ultrasound, MRI, CT scan or X-ray. Other procedures use image guidance to direct a very small needle through the skin to the intended target inside your body.
Because most interventional radiology procedures are done with light sedation, you may be able to watch the treatment as well.
“The imaging is real-time, so you can see the procedure on the screen,” Dr. Mauro says. “Most people are awake and breathing on their own, so they’re aware of what’s happening.”
Don’t be concerned about being awake, Dr. Mauro says. Light sedation is adequate to prevent pain while carrying less risk than heavier sedation.
With the guidance of imaging, doctors can be very precise in their movements, and thanks to the small incision, there’s typically less pain and scarring. Most procedures can be done on an outpatient basis. For the majority of procedures, Dr. Mauro says there is a very small risk of bleeding or infection because of the small incision in the skin.
Common Interventional Radiology Procedures
Interventional radiology can be used to diagnose and treat a wide variety of concerns.
“It’s a huge spectrum of patients, encompassing cancer diagnosis and treatment, both men’s and women’s health, and much more,” Dr. Mauro says.
Some common procedures include:
- Image-guided biopsies.
- Implantation of catheters and ports into veins.
- Ablation, which heats or freezes cells to destroy them. This can be used to treat some cancerous tumors, chronic pain, and varicose veins in the legs.
- Embolization, which reduces blood flow to abnormal growths, such as fibroids, hemorrhoids or an enlarged prostate. It can relieve the pelvic pain associated with pelvic congestion syndrome. Embolization can also deliver medication directly to a hard-to-reach part of the body, so it might be used to inject cancer treatments into the liver, for example.
- Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, which stabilize spine fractures and relieve pain.
- Various techniques that improve blood flow, which can treat some brain and spine disorders, narrowed arteries, aneurysms and blood clots.
You may meet an interventional radiologist even if your treatment is being overseen by another physician.
Candidates for Interventional Radiology Procedures
The promise of a less invasive approach than major surgery is enticing—so how do you know if an interventional radiology procedure is available for your concern? Ask your doctor.
“Interventional radiologists work with a variety of doctors from many disciplines on who might be a good candidate for interventional radiology procedures,” Dr. Mauro says. “We can consult on cases to evaluate what’s best for any patient.”
Dr. Mauro says that you can also refer yourself to an interventional radiology clinic, if you see it mentioned as a treatment option for your condition, and a doctor will complete a workup to confirm that it’s the correct approach.
The field of interventional radiology continues to develop, which means that you may see increased options for this type of care in the future.
“One of the great things about interventional radiology is that there continues to be emerging and exciting developments,” Dr. Mauro says. “Every few years, there are new procedures. If there’s something we can’t offer today, we’re likely to be able to offer it within five to 10 years.”
Wondering if you’d benefit from interventional radiology? Talk to your doctor. If you need a doctor, find one near you.