Interventional Radiology Services
Welcome to 21st Century Medicine! Interventional Radiology procedures are an advance in medicine that replaces “open” surgical procedures.
Interventional Radiologists use their expertise in reading x-rays, ultrasound, CT and MRI to guide small instruments such as catheters through the blood vessels or other pathways to treat disease through a small puncture in the skin (percutaneously). Interventional procedures are typically much less invasive and less costly than traditional surgery.
Most IR procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis or require only a short hospital stay. General anesthesia is usually not required. Risk, pain and recovery time are often significantly reduced. IR procedures are generally easier for the patient because they involve no large incisions, less risk, less pain and shorter recovery times.
The team of Board-certified Interventional Radiologists at Hunterdon Medical Center (physicians specially trained in minimally invasive, targeted treatments using imaging technology) are certified by the American Board of Medical Specialists.
Common IR Procedures include:
- Angiography
- an x-ray exam of the arteries and veins to diagnose blockages and other blood vessel problems using a catheter to enter the blood vessel and a contrast agent (x-ray dye) to make the artery or vein visible on the x-ray.
- Balloon Angioplasty
- Opens blocked or narrowed blood vessels by inserting a very small balloon into the vessel and inflating it. Used to unblock clogged arteries in the legs or arms, (called peripheral vascular disease or PVD), kidneys, the brain or elsewhere in the body. The area ballooned may be reinforced with a fabric-wrapped stent, which is a small, flexible mesh tube used to “patch” the blood vessel. This is also called an endograph.
- Biliary Drainage and Stenting
- Uses a stent (small mesh tube) to open blocked ducts and allow bile to drain from the liver.
- Central Venous Access
- Insertion of a tube beneath the skin and into the blood vessels so that patients can receive medication or nutrients directly into the blood stream or so blood can be drawn.
- Chemoembolization
- Delivery of cancer-fighting agents directly to the site of a cancer tumor; currently being used mostly to treat cancers of the endocrine system, including melanoma and liver cancers.
- Embolization
- Delivery of clotting agents (coils, plastic particles, gel, foam, etc.) directly to an area that is bleeding or to block blood flow to a problem area, such as an aneurysm or fibroid tumor in the uterus.
- Fallopian tube Catheterization
- Uses a catheter to open blocked fallopian tubes without surgery; a treatment for infertility.
- Gastrostomy tube
- Inserts a feeding tube into the stomach for patients who are unable to take sufficient food by mouth.
- Hemodialysis Access Maintenance
- Uses angioplasty or thrombolysis to open blocked grafts for hemodialysis, which treats kidney failure.
- Needle biopsy
- Diagnostic test for breast, lung, and other cancers; an alternative to surgical biopsy.
- Radiofrequency (RF) Ablation
- Uses Radio frequency energy to kill cancerous tumors.
To find out if a procedure using interventional radiology techniques is right for you, call (908) 788-6388.