Interventional Radiology Services
What is Interventional Radiology?
What are the benefits of Interventional Radiology procedures?
Are Hunterdon’s Interventional Radiologists certified?
What Interventional Radiology procedures does Hunterdon offer?
Where can I get more information about Hunterdon’s Interventional Radiology procedures?
What is Interventional Radiology?
Welcome to 21st Century medicine! Interventional Radiology procedures are an advance in medicine that replace “open” surgical procedures. These operations are typically much less invasive and less costly than traditional surgery.
Interventional Radiologists are experts in reading:
The radiologists use this expertise to guide small instruments such as catheters through the blood vessels or other pathways. This allows them to treat disease through a small puncture in the skin.
What are the benefits of Interventional Radiology procedures?
IR procedures are generally easier for a patient because they:
- do not require large incisions
- involve less risk
- involve less pain
- have shorter recovery times
- can be performed on an outpatient basis, or will require only a short hospital stay
- usually do not require general anesthesia
Are Hunterdon’s Interventional Radiologists certified?
The team of Board-certified Interventional Radiologists at Hunterdon Medical Center is certified by the American Board of Medical Specialists. These physicians are specially trained in minimally invasive, targeted treatments using imaging technology.
What Interventional Radiology procedures does Hunterdon offer?
The most common Interventional Radiology procedures at Hunterdon include:
Angiography
An X-ray exam of the arteries and veins to diagnose blockages and other blood vessel problems, angiography uses 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
Balloon angioplasty opens blocked or narrowed blood vessels by inserting a very small balloon into the vessel and inflating it. It is commonly 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 ballooned area may be reinforced with a fabric-wrapped stent, which is a small, flexible meshlike tube used to “patch” the blood vessel. This is also called an endograph.
Biliary Drainage and Stenting
Billary Drainage and Stenting opens blocked ducts and allows bile to drain from the liver.
Central Venous Access
Central Venous Access involves the insertion of a tube beneath the skin and into the blood vessels so patients can receive medication or nutrients directly into the blood stream or blood can be drawn.
Chemoembolization
Chemoembolization delivers cancer-fighting agents directly to the site of a cancer tumor. It is currently used primarily to treat cancers of the endocrine system, including melanoma and liver cancers.
Embolization
Embolization delivers 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
Fallopian Tube Catheterization is the insertion of a catheter to open blocked fallopian tubes without surgery. It is a treatment for infertility.
Gastrostomy Tube
A feeding tube in inserted into the stomach for patients who are unable to take sufficient food by mouth.
Hemodialysis Access Maintenance
Hemodialysis Access Maintenance uses angioplasty or thrombolysis to open blocked grafts for hemodialysis, which treats kidney failure.
Needle Biopsy
Needle Biopsy is a diagnostic test for breast, lung and other cancers. It is an alternative to surgical biopsy.
Radiofrequency (RF) Ablation
Radiofrequency Ablation uses radio frequency energy to kill cancerous tumors.
Where can I get more information about Hunterdon’s Interventional Radiology procedures?
To find out if a procedure using interventional radiology techniques is right for you, call 908-788-6388.