Many conditions that once required traditional open surgery can now be treated nonsurgically by an interventional radiologist. An interventional radiologist is a doctor who uses x-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds and other imaging techniques to see inside the body to diagnose and treat conditions without surgery.
Our experienced team performs thousands of interventional radiology procedures each year.
Benefits of interventional radiology
Interventional radiology has advantages over traditional surgical procedures, including:
- Faster recovery
- Less bleeding and pain
- Less risk of infection
- Less trauma to your body
- Savings, minimally invasive procedures often costs less than traditional surgery
- Very small incisions that cause minimal scarring
By using long, thin tubes called catheters inserted through small incisions and guided through the body with advanced imaging technology, our interventional radiologists are able to deliver treatment without open surgery.
- Stroke
- Brain aneurysm
- Peripheral vascular disease (PVD)
- Varicose veins
- Venous ulcers and leg varices
- Spinal fractures and kyphosis
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Uterine fibroids
- Bone, breast, kidney, liver and lung cancer
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
- Chronic pelvic pain (pelvic congestion syndrome)
- Balloon angioplasty
- Embolization
- Thrombolysis
- Central venous access catheter (CVAC)
- Endovenous laser treatment
- Vertebroplasty
- Kyphoplasty
- Chemoembolization
- Biliary drainage and stenting
- Gastrostomy
- Hemodialysis access maintenance
- Radiofrequency vertebral augmentation and tumor ablation
- TIPS (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt)
- Fallopian tube catheterization
- Uterine fibroid embolization
- Varicocele embolization
- Inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement and retrieval
Reproductive and urinary tract procedures
Our interventional radiologists can perform minimally invasive procedures to improve and repair your reproductive organs and urinary tract.
- Prostate artery embolization (PAE)
An enlarged prostate can block the flow of urine causing the urinary stream to be weak, leading to infection, bladder stones and reduced kidney function. Through a minimally invasive procedure called prostate artery embolization, the prostate becomes 50-60% smaller and can lead to an improved quality of life. - Varicocele embolization
Varicocele are enlarged veins within the scrotum that can cause pain and swelling that leads to low sperm production, decreased sperm quality, and infertility. Mercyhealth’s interventional radiology team can perform a varicocele embolization to reroute the blood to other veins to relieve symptoms and provide patients with a faster recovery than other surgical options.
- Uterine artery embolization
Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous growths in the uterus that can cause significantly life-limiting bleeding, pelvic pain, bloating or urinary symptoms. A Mercyhealth interventional radiologist can perform a uterine artery embolization to block the fibroid blood vessels, starving the fibroids and causing them to shrink and die. - Female pelvic congestion syndrome
Pelvic congestion syndrome can be cause by enlarged veins in the pelvic area that can lead to fertility issues and pain. Our interventional radiologists can plug the affected vein to reroute the blood flow to healthy veins by performing a minimally invasive, 30-minute procedure.