Interventional radiology is a medical specialty using minimally invasive, image-guided procedures to diagnose and treat a variety of conditions on both an outpatient and inpatient level.
At Princeton Medical Center (PMC), our board certified, interventional radiologists use their expertise in reading X-ray, ultrasound, MRI and other diagnostic imaging to guide catheters and other tiny instruments through blood vessels or the skin to treat diseases without surgery.
Interventional radiologists use diagnostic imaging to see inside a patient's body, pinpoint the medical problem and devise a route to the site without surgery. Catheters or other instruments are then guided to the site to treat the disease or tumors directly at the source, through a small incision. With the use of interventional radiology, there is lower risk to the patient, reduced or no hospital stays, limited anesthesia, less pain and quicker recoveries.
At PMC, interventional radiology is used to successfully treat a wide range of diseases and conditions. These include the field's pioneering procedures of angioplasty and catheter-delivered stents to treat blocked arteries. In addition, PMC's fellowship-trained medical team is one of the few in the state using aortic stent grafts to treat aortic aneurysms, and was one of the first in the state to perform advanced angioplasty procedures known as cryoplasty, which actually freezes plaque in blocked arteries so the body can efficiently remove it. Other therapeutic procedures, such as vertebroplasty, a minimally invasive procedure where bone cement is percutaneously injected into a fractured vertebra in order to stabilize it and reduce pain, and vena cava filter placement and embolizations are also offered.
Additionally, a wide range of exams, including port and PICC placement venous access; dialysis catheter placement; and diagnostic procedures such as angiograms and discograms are available.
At PMC, interventional radiology is used to successfully treat:
- Uterine fibroid tumors using a minimally invasive procedure called uterine fibroid embolization to shrink the tumors as an alternative to hysterectomy
- Liver and other cancers using chemoembolization to carry chemotherapy directly to the site to shrink tumors that normally are resistant to treatment
- Spinal fractures from conditions such as osteoporosis by injecting a cement-like substance for stabilization using a process known as vertebroplasty
- Peripheral vascular disease by unblocking arteries
For more information about PMC Outpatient Imaging, please call 609.853.6700.
Additional information about interventional radiology is available by visiting the Radiological Society of North America's website at www.rsna.org.