Interventional Radiology – The medicine of 21st century

What is Interventional Radiology?

This is a rapidly growing medical specialty which has a number of spectacular new procedures, which can prove to be of great value in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. These procedures are conducted by an interventional radiologist, who is skilled for carrying out the following

• Close a hemorrhaged blood vessel
• Close the blood vessel which is feeding a tumor or a vascular malformation.
• Placing a stent by opening a narrow or obstructed blood vessel due to arteriosclerotic plaque.
• Administering a medicine or a fibrinolytic substance at a site inside the body where a thrombus or a blood clot is formed. The medicine destroys the clot and re-establishes adequate circulation.
• Placing a filter in the in the inferior vena cava to filter out the blood clots in their path to the lungs.
• To get the probe precisely inside the tumor and burn it with a radio frequency ablation procedure.
• Getting the probe in an internal abscess, and put a tube in it and drain it
• Build bridges for internal bypass to restore blood flow, bile or urine
• To strengthen a vertebra when it is weakened or fractured
• Occlude a cerebral aneurysm or any abdominal vessel and so on

The Distinct Features Of Interventional Radiology

• Interventional radiology is performed my making a puncture with a needle which gives access to a blood vessel or bile duct urinary tract gastrointestinal tract. No surgical cut is required. The risk is considerably reduced as there are no surgical cuts on the body.
• The procedures are less painful and do not need general anesthesia. At the most, conscious sedation is required or a local anesthesia.
• The recovery time is faster. The patients can return to work in much shorter duration.
• Many of these treatments are cheaper than the surgical procedures.

Who are the Interventional Radiologists?

These are physicians, who after completing their specialty in general radiology; undertake a advanced special training for the minimally invasive procedures. After completion of this training they come under the category of “interventional radiologist”.

The interventional radiologists use their experience of general radiology to read X rays, ultrasound and other medical image results. They are specially trained in the use of percutanous small instruments like catheters which can sail inside the blood vessels or other pathways to treat specific medical conditions.

These procedures are far less invasive than the regular surgery and often come cheaper too. The skill and the ability of the radiologist to see inside the body in real time, helps them to achieve more precision than an open surgery.

There are currently over 12000 interventional radiologists around the world. This specialty is spreading fast, as it is gaining a wider acceptance and greater popularity.