What is Interventional Radiology?

What are the benefits of Interventional Radiology procedures?

Are Hunterdon Medical Center’s Interventional Radiologists certified?

What Interventional Radiology procedures does Hunterdon Medical Center offer for heart and vascular care?

Where can I get more information about Hunterdon Medical Center’s Interventional Radiology procedures?

What is Interventional Radiology?

Interventional Radiology procedures are an advance in medicine, which replace “open” surgical procedures. These operations are typically much less invasive and less costly than traditional surgery.

Interventional Radiologists are experts in reading:

• X-rays
• Ultrasound
• CT scans
• MRI

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?

Interventional Radiology 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 Medical Center’s Interventional Radiologists certified?

The American Board of Medical Specialists certifies the team of board-certified Interventional Radiologists at Hunterdon Medical Center. These physicians are specially trained in minimally invasive, targeted treatments using imaging technology.

What interventional radiology procedures does Hunterdon Medical Center offer for heart and vascular care?

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 mesh-like tube used to “patch” the blood vessel. This is also called an endograph.

Where can I get more information about Hunterdon Medical Center’s Interventional Radiology procedures?

To find out if a procedure using interventional radiology techniques is right for you, please call 908-788-6388.