Used since the 1950s, but with an astonishing development in the last 30 years, interventional radiology has recently been recognized as an independent clinical specialty, on an equal footing with other traditional medical branches. Interventional radiology offers therapeutic solutions that complement or replace the classic solutions for most medical and surgical specialties.
Interventional radiology combines imaging skills and minimally invasive imaging-guided procedures (computed tomography, angiography, or ultrasonography) to assess, diagnose, and treat benign or malignant conditions of the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and extremities. This medical specialty can also detect uncommon diseases.
The techniques used offer new treatment options for several types of conditions such as:
- arterial diseases: obliterating arteriopathy, stenosis – caused by narrowing of the arteries, mainly caused by atherosclerosis;
- primary (hepatocellular carcinoma) or secondary (metastatic) liver tumors;
- cerebral aneurysms – weakened areas of the arterial wall, which lead to its enlargement and weakening, with a risk of rupture;
- intracerebral vascular malformations – various abnormalities of the vessels in the brain and the relationships between them
Given the continuous advancement of technology and imaging, new therapeutic options are constantly proving to be beneficial for various ailments. Ask an interventional radiologist Denver area if there are such minimally invasive options for the treatment you need. In the age of personalized medicine, each case has its own particularities and must be approached as such. If you opt for an interventional radiology procedure, you can benefit from a lower risk than in the case of traditional surgery, less pain and quicker recovery.
