Interventional radiology is today’s most innovative way to use X-rays and other imaging techniques to diagnose, treat, or track acute and chronic conditions and injuries. Performed by highly experienced physicians who use state-of-the-art equipment and tools, interventional radiology can help you improve or manage your health in a lot of ways.
What Is Interventional Radiology?
Interventional radiology, or IR, is a medical subspecialty that uses X-ray and other radiological imaging techniques to guide minimally invasive treatments. Common imaging techniques used include X-rays, ultrasonography, medical resonance imaging (MRI), or CT scans (computerized tomography).IR is often used to repair injuries, track and treat cancer, place stents, and much more.
Board-certified radiologists with extensive training and experience in interventional methods perform these state-of-the-art procedures at medical centers or hospitals. Catheters, wires, and very small surgical instruments are the tools of a radiologist’s trade, much to the benefit of patients who wish to avoid more complex open surgeries, long hospital stays, and significant amounts of downtime for recovery.
Benefits of Interventional Radiology
At EMU Health, we see our patients enjoy a wide range of benefits when they come to our specialty care center for interventional radiology procedures. These benefits include:
- Less anesthesia needed than open surgeries; often local anesthesia and/or sedation suffice
- Quick recovery time; go home the same day; get back to work quickly
- No hospitalization required; you get to go home and rest the same day
- Small incisions that leave little or no scars
- Few to no sutures; often a small bandage suffices
- Minimal to no pain after the procedure
IR is exceptionally versatile and can benefit a lot of people with a plethora of health needs. Our experts at EMU Health use innovative IR methods to:
- Treat uterine fibroids, benign prostatic hypertrophy, peripheral artery disease, varicose veins, and more
- Place inferior vena cava filters to capture blood clots traveling to the lungs
- Deliver medications for chronic orthopedic conditions, cancer, and other conditions that cause a fair amount of pain
- Treat and track the progress of cancer and other progressive diseases
- Perform minor back surgery, such as vertebroplasty
- Place a gastrointestinal feeding tube accurately and comfortably
- Embolize bleeding blood vessels in the esophagus or scrotum (vericocele)
- Drain fluid build-up in the abdomen or chest cavity
- Remove gallstones and kidney stones
- Needle biopsy tumors
- Perform all procedures with precision and a minimum of disruption of healthy tissues
- Perform spinal interventions such as vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty
Interventional Radiology at EMU Health
In the Queens area, EMU Health is the go-to outpatient interventional radiology center. The team is led by experienced physician Dr. Michael Warhit. He is double board-certified and stays on the leading edge of both diagnostic and interventional radiology advances.
To learn more about what IR could mean for you and your health needs, please call us at (718) 850-4368, or request a visit online.
