Vascular and interventional radiologists (IR’s) use imaging, like x-rays, to see inside a patient’s body, pinpoint where the problem is, and map out how to get there without a surgical operation. These highly-skilled physicians use a very small nick in the skin to guide catheters or other instruments through the vascular system, urinary tract, or gastrointestinal tract. This is a minimally-invasive manner to treat disease directly at the source, or to take tissue samples for analysis.
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Advantages of Interventional Radiologic (IR) Procedures
While no treatment is risk free, the risks of IR procedures can be far lower than the risks of open surgery.
The specific advantages are:
• No large incisions; usually performed through a small nick the size of the lead tip of a pencil.
• Since there is no open surgery, there are no large scars following the procedures.
• Minimally invasive procedures typically have a lower risk of complications than open surgical procedures.
• Many procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis or via short hospital stay.
• Patients rarely require general anesthesia; typically sedation and pain medication are given to make the patient comfortable during the IR procedure.
• Recovery time is often significantly reduced.
How is the VIR Service at MidHudson Regional Unique?
Our VIR service is staffed by a team of highly qualified, dedicated nurses and technologists that provide outstanding care to our patients before, during and immediately after procedures. Our newly-renovated IR suite features state-of-the-art equipment and procedure rooms, and a six-bed holding area, all combined in a patient-friendly environment. Our IR team provides the most advanced interventional services in the region.
Diseases Treated By VIR
• Uterine fibroids: benign tumors in the uterus which are treated with UFE (uterine fibroid embolization). This is a non-operative treatment during which a fibroid’s blood supply is blocked with tiny particles.
• Varicoceles: enlarged veins inside the scrotum can be treated with embolization. Embolization is performed by “plugging up” the blood supply to the varicocele with small metallic coils.
• Cancer: Tumors can be treated minimally invasively by chemoembolization (injection of therapeutic agents directly into the blood vessel supplying the tumor) and by percutaneous ablation (such as destroying the tumor with RFA or microwave probes).
∙ Spine Fractures: a type of spine fracture called a “compression fracture” where a bone in the spinal column gets “squashed” can be treated with kyphoplasty. Kyphoplasty involves injecting medical cement into the bone using needles and x-ray guidance.
∙ DVT (deep vein thrombosis): these are blood clots in the leg veins. We can treat them with devices that break up and suck out clot and with stents which can open up veins that have been blocked for a long period of time.
∙ PAD (peripheral arterial disease): this is plaque that can block arteries in the legs and kidneys. We can treat this with non-operative treatments such as a stent placement and angioplasty.
Other VIR Prodcedures
Declotting, angioplasty and maturation of dialysis grafts and fistulas, Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis catheter placement and maintenance, Port placement for chemotherapy, Needle biopsy including transjugular liver biopsy, Preoperative tumor embolization, Placement and retrieval of IVC filters, Stenting for SVC syndrome, TIPS placement, Long term catheter placement for ascites and pleural effusions, Thoracentesis/paracentesis, PICC and tunneled catheter placement, Embolization for gastrointestinal bleeding and trauma, Biliary drainage, Percutaneous gastrostomy and gastrojejunostomy, Nephrostomy and ureteral stenting, Embolization for pelvic congestion syndrome, Epidural steroid injection, SI joint injection, Blood patches.