Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiology is a subspecialty of radiology. It is medical imaging designed to uncover a problem by intervening early, thereby reducing or even eliminating the need for exploratory surgery. Interventional radiology procedures are performed by an interventional radiologist. These specialists use various imaging methods to perform many minimally invasive procedures for both diagnosis and treatment of several diseases. An interventional radiologist is specially trained to help guide the placement of needles, catheters, or other devices into specifically targeted areas of the body for enhanced performance and outcomes of many procedures.
- Angiography and angioplasty - Represent the placement of needles and/or catheters into the arteries or veins throughout the body. This may be done to diagnose many circulation disorders including blockages and abnormal dilations, called aneurysms. The technique is often used following trauma to look for leakage or damage of major blood vessels.
- Varicose vein treatment - vascular embolization - An embolism is a blockage in a blood vessel. In most cases blood vessel disorders are corrected by keeping the vessels open; however, other conditions require the purposeful blockage of them. One such condition includes varicose veins of the legs. Today, interventional radiologists can treat varicose veins with the use of lasers and other injection techniques. These techniques can also be used for the treatment of cancers of the liver and other conditions associated with excessive bleeding.
- Vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty - These procedures were developed in the mid-to late 1990s for treatment of painful fractures or collapses of the bones of the spine. This procedure involves injecting bone cement through a needle that is placed through the skin directly into the damaged bone. When the cement hardens, the bone becomes stable. These procedures are often very effective for relieving back pain from fractures caused by osteoporosis or bone softening. Certain cancers can also cause this condition and can also be treated.
- Biopsy procedures - Using CT scans or ultrasound for guidance, special needles used for collecting small tissue samples can be placed into almost every organ of the body to help diagnose various conditions, including almost all forms of cancer.
- Drainage procedures - Many different conditions may be treated with small plastic catheters that are inserted through the skin into pockets of infection or fluid and into organs with blocked tubes, such as the liver and kidneys. Many of these problems can be managed with interventional radiology techniques that formerly were only treated with major surgery.
The following procedures are available only at UPMC Hamot's State Street location:
- Uterine fibroid embolization - This is an application of an embolization procedure for treatment of symptoms associated with benign fibroid tumors of the uterus. Excessive bleeding, pain, and other symptoms associated with a mass in the uterus can be significantly improved by injecting materials that block the blood vessels supplying these sometimes very large tumors.
- Advanced biopsies
- Pain management procedures
