Questions about this scan?
Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiology uses imaging guidance to perform minimally invasive procedures through small access points. It can help diagnose, treat, drain, biopsy, or open blocked structures without a large operation.
A bone biopsy uses imaging guidance to sample a bone lesion for pathology or microbiology; targeting improves precision but cannot guarantee a diagnostic result.
A breast biopsy uses imaging guidance to sample a suspicious area for pathology, while recognizing that occasional nondiagnostic or discordant results need repeat or surgical biopsy.
Image-guided biopsies use ultrasound, CT, or other imaging to target tissue without open surgery, but sampling can occasionally be insufficient or nonrepresentative.
A Kidney Biopsy removes a tiny piece of kidney tissue using image guidance to determine why your kidneys are not working properly or to investigate a suspicious mass.
A liver biopsy uses image guidance to collect tissue for pathology, helping characterize liver disease while carrying bleeding risk and possible sampling limitations.
A CT-Guided Lung Biopsy samples an abnormal spot or nodule found inside your lungs using real-time CT imaging for precision guidance, avoiding the need for major chest surgery.
A Lymph Node Biopsy takes a small tissue sample from an enlarged or swollen lymph node using ultrasound guidance — a safe, accurate alternative to surgically removing the entire node.
A Soft Tissue Mass Biopsy evaluates unexplained lumps under the skin, in the fat, or deep inside a muscle using ultrasound or CT guidance to precisely identify what the mass is made of.
A Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) is an extremely fast and simple procedure to check a nodule in your thyroid gland using ultrasound guidance — typically completed in under 20 minutes.
An angiogram maps your blood vessels to find blockages. If one is found, an angioplasty is performed in the same appointment to fix the problem — using a tiny balloon to stretch the blocked artery wide open.
Biliary drainage or stenting can relieve selected bile-duct obstruction, but drainage may be incomplete and infection, bleeding, leakage, blockage, or repeat procedures can occur.
A Carotid Artery Stenting procedure focuses on the two large arteries in your neck that supply blood to your brain. It uses a small balloon and a metal mesh tube to open narrowed areas in these vital arteries, designed specifically to prevent a major stroke.
A deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a solid blood clot deep inside the muscles, usually in the leg or arm. When blood thinners aren't enough, doctors use image guidance to physically clear the blocked vein.
Vascular access procedures provide a reliable, long-term pathway directly into your bloodstream. By creating a dedicated entry point, doctors can safely administer medications, provide nutrition, or perform life-saving treatments like dialysis without repeated needle sticks.
A Peripheral Artery Angioplasty is a treatment focused on restoring blood flow to your legs and feet. It uses a small balloon to open narrowed arteries caused by a buildup of cholesterol plaque.
A Renal Artery Angioplasty and Stenting procedure focuses on the arteries that supply blood to your kidneys. By opening blockages in these vessels, it helps protect your kidney function and can significantly lower dangerously high blood pressure.
Thrombolysis offers a direct, non-surgical way to dissolve stubborn blood clots by delivering clot-busting medication straight into the blocked vessel — without open surgery.
Endovenous ablation is a modern, keyhole treatment for varicose veins that uses gentle heat — from radio waves or a laser — to seal faulty veins shut from the inside, without surgery.
Bronchial artery embolization can control significant coughing of blood by blocking culprit systemic arteries, but rebleeding and serious nontarget embolization remain possible.
Embolization is a procedure where an interventional radiologist intentionally blocks a specific blood vessel to stop bleeding or starve a tumor of its blood supply — all without open surgery.
Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding embolization is a potentially life-saving procedure used to stop active bleeding occurring inside your stomach or intestines.
Prostate Artery Embolization (PAE) is a minimally invasive treatment for men suffering from an enlarged prostate (BPH). By cutting off extra blood supply to the prostate, it shrinks the gland and relieves pressure on the urethra without traditional surgery.
TACE delivers a powerful one-two punch to liver tumors — sending chemotherapy directly into the tumor and then blocking its blood supply to trap the medicine inside and starve the tumor of oxygen.
When severe physical trauma causes internal organs to rupture and bleed, trauma embolization is an emergency procedure used to plug the bleeding vessels from the inside — often saving both the patient's life and their injured organs.
Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) is a non-surgical treatment that shrinks fibroids in the womb. It offers a less invasive alternative to a hysterectomy, allowing you to keep your reproductive organs intact.
Varicocele embolization blocks refluxing gonadal veins to treat selected pain, testicular effects, or infertility; symptom and fertility improvement are not guaranteed.
Microwave Ablation uses electromagnetic energy to heat and destroy tumors from the inside out — achieving higher temperatures faster than RFA, making it effective for larger lesions and tumors near blood vessels.
Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) uses gentle heat to interrupt pain-carrying nerve signals or destroy abnormal tumor tissue — a direct, image-guided approach that avoids major surgery.
Fallopian tube recanalization (FTR) is a non-surgical interventional radiology procedure used to clear blocked fallopian tubes, helping to restore fertility in women.
A GJ Tube extends past the stomach directly into the small intestine, making it the preferred feeding tube for patients with severe reflux, gastroparesis, or stomach blockages.
A Gastrostomy Tube (G-tube or RIG) provides a direct pathway for nutrition into the stomach through the abdominal wall — a reliable solution when eating by mouth is not safely possible.
GI Stricture Dilation uses a medical balloon to stretch open narrowed areas in the digestive tract under X-ray guidance — restoring normal food passage without open surgery.
A Nephrostomy places a small drain directly through your back into your kidney, allowing trapped urine to bypass a blockage and flow safely into a collection bag — providing immediate relief for the kidney.
An IVC filter may reduce pulmonary embolism risk when anticoagulation cannot be used, but it does not treat existing clot and requires an explicit retrieval and follow-up plan.
A TIPS procedure builds a life-saving detour entirely inside the liver, relieving dangerously high portal blood pressure to stop variceal bleeding and treat refractory ascites in patients with cirrhosis.
Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty act as an internal cast for collapsed spinal bones — injecting medical-grade cement into fractured vertebrae to quickly stabilize the break and relieve severe back pain.
Cryoablation uses extreme cold to freeze and destroy tumors. A thin probe is guided into the mass to create a lethal ball of ice — visible in real time on the scanner — that spares healthy surrounding tissue.
Interventional Radiology (IR) represents a shift in modern medicine, offering targeted treatments using image guidance. Instead of open surgery, doctors use real-time pictures to guide tiny instruments through blood vessels or small pathways in the body.
Image-guided drainage is a minimally invasive procedure that uses ultrasound or CT scans to guide a small tube (catheter) into fluid collections in your body, allowing them to be drained safely.
Y-90 Radioembolization (SIRT) uses millions of microscopic radioactive beads to fight liver cancer from the inside out, delivering a high dose of targeted radiation directly into the tumor's blood supply.
