Imaging & Interventional Specialists - Your alternative to surgery
About our practice
Imaging & Interventional Specialists are world-class, board-certified interventional radiologists who perform minimally invasive, "pinhole", same-day outpatient procedures to address many medical problems. Imaging and Interventional Specialist move tiny, specialized pieces of equipment around the body under image guidance, usually inside vessels, to perform a wide variety of precise techniques.
Interventional Radiology has revolutionized modern medicine. What used to require invasive surgery can now be performed by and interventional radiologist as an outpatient, "pinhole" procedure with minimal to no downtime and in a comfortable outpatient setting. Because procedures are done using a tiny needle they are often referred to as "pinhole" procedures! No more being "put under" in a hospital and having a hospital stay and long recovery.
Imaging & Interventional Specialists provide cutting-edge treatment ... without the cutting! You leave the same day with a Band-Aid!
Interventional Radiology (IR) is a medical specialty that provides minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the human body. IR physicians use X-ray, CT, MRI and ultrasound to guide tiny catheters and other tiny devices through the body to treat at same time they diagnose conditions such as cancer, peripheral vascular disease, enlarged prostates uterine fibroids, and stroke.
What are the advantages of pinhole procedures?
Because they are “minimally invasive” “pinhole” procedures have these advantages:
- Rapid recovery
- fewer side effects
- Less complications
- Less pain
- Less risk
- Can be performed in a comfortable, familiar outpatient setting without being “put to sleep”
- Go home the same day with a Band-Aid
What can Imaging & Interventional Specialists treat with our non surgical, "pinhole", same-day techniques
Imaging & Interventional Specialists provide minimally invasive "pinhole? procedures to treat a wide variety of conditions. A special procedure called arterial embolization can be used to treat.
- Uterine fibroids
- Enlarged prostate
- Knee pain
- Hemorrhoids
- Liver cancer
Other "pinhole" procedures such as angioplasty, stent placement and atherectomy are used to treat peripheral arterial disease.
As well as these procedures Imaging and Interventional Specialists perform procedures for chronic venous insufficiency, varicose veins, May-Thurner disease, deep vein thrombosis
What is arterial embolization and how is it used to treat medical problems?
Arterial embolization means blocking the flow of blood to a problem area in the body By very precisely blocking feeding arteries with tiny beads or coils blood, containing oxygen and nutrients, is stopped from reaching, for examples, uterine fibroids, enlarged prostates, sites of inflammation, hemorrhoids and liver tumors. These shrink and slowly die being absorbed by the body. At sites of inflammation pain signals are decreased - for example, knee pain and frozen shoulders. This procedure is now often used as an alternative to surgery.
1) Uterine fibroids: uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), an alternative to hysterectomy
Uterine fibroids are non cancerous growths in the uterus that can cause women prolonged and/or heavy periods, constipation and pelvic pain for examples. As a non surgical alternative to hysterectomy uterine fibroid embolizationis a same day, "pinhole" procedure performed by Imaging & Interventional Specialists
2) Enlarged prostate: prostate artery embolization (PAE), a TURP alternative
Lower urinary tract symptoms in men such as frequency (going alot), urgency, nocturia (night time urination) and a weak stream can be cause by a non cancerous overgrowth of the prostate - benign prostatic hyperplasi - causing an enlarged prostate, As a non surgical alternative to a TURP prostate artery embolization is a same day, "pinhole" procedure performed by Imaging & Interventional Specialists in an outpatient setting
3) Knee pain: genicular artery embolization (GAE) an early knee replacement alternative
Knee pain is common and is usually due to "wear and tear" degenerative disease called osteoarthris. As an early treatment alternative to knee replacement geniciular artery embolization can block inflammaroty pain signals. GAE can also treat chronic pain that occurs in some people after a knee replacement.
4) Hemorrhoids: hemorroidal artery embolization (HAE), an alternative to hemorrhiodectomy
Hemorrhoids are swollen and/or bleeding veins in the anal canal. They can be caused by straining with bowel movements, pregnancy or being overweight. As a non surgical alternative to hemorrhoidectomy hemorrhoidal artery embolization (also call the 'emborrhoid' technique) is a simple, outpatient procedure with hospital stay or long recovery
5) Liver tumors: transarterial embolization (TAE),chemo-embolization (TACE), and transarterial radio-embolization (TARE)
Transarterial embolization (TAE),chemo-embolization (TACE), and transarterial radio-embolization (TARE)are a specialized “pinhole” techniques used by imaging and interventional vascular physicians which involves placing a needle is put into one of your arteries and advancing a tiny catheter advanced into the artery supplying your tumor. Tiny beads coated are then slowly introduced into the artery blocking off blood flow in embolization. Beads may be coated with chemotherapy so not only are arteries blocked but chemotherapy delivered. Because the chemotherapy is delivered in a targeted way directly into the liver cancer it is very effective. The liver cancer then shrinks and eyes.
These non-embolization procedures involve placing tiny, specialized, miniaturized equipment inside arteries to remove atherosclerotic disease that can block arteries and cause leg cramps, leg ulcers and can lead to amputation
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is when plaque (atherosclerosis) builds up and narrows arteries supplying blood to the legs. Symptoms include intermittent claudication or cramping pain in the hips, thighs or calves when walking or exercising - this is because not enough oxygen rich blood is getting to muscles. If left untreated PAD can progress and lead to non-healing wounds or ulcers and eventually limb amputation.