Interventional Radiology: Minimally Invasive for Your Maximum Benefit

A specialized branch of medicine, interventional radiology (IR) allows our doctors to perform a wide variety of minimally invasive procedures, offering you maximum benefits—from smaller incisions to shorter recovery periods to reduced pain.

Holland Hospital’s board-certified interventional radiologists and their experienced support staff provide access to both vascular and nonvascular IR treatment in our state-of-the-art facilities that are close to your home. Working together, their ultimate goal is to help you leave the hospital faster and return home sooner.

What is Interventional Radiology?

Interventional radiology is a specialized type of medicine that uses x-ray, ultrasound and other imaging technology to guide tiny instruments, such as catheters (small, narrow tubes), through the blood vessels or other pathways to diagnose and treat disease. Because they only require small incisions, IR procedures are less traumatic to the body.

Who Are Interventional Radiologists?

Interventional radiologists are doctors who perform procedures with a variety of technology to diagnose and treat disease, from x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to ultrasounds and computed tomography (CT) scans. Board certified by the American Board of Radiology, interventional radiologists have special training in percutaneous interventions (procedures that require only a small puncture in the skin) using image-guided equipment.

Your IR Team

Holland Hospital’s team of board-certified interventional radiologists, specialized nurses and technicians is dedicated to performing the latest minimally invasive techniques to diagnose and treat atherosclerotic disease, cancer, and many other serious, potentially life-threatening conditions. Our highly skilled team incorporates the expertise of:

  • Board-certified interventional radiologists
  • Nurses specializing in interventional radiology
  • Hospitalists (doctors who specialize in providing care for patients while they’re in the hospital versus in an office setting)
  • Expertise from several other medical specialists (as needed): gynecologists, oncologists, vascular surgeons, cardiologists, urologists and nephrologists

IR Treatment Options

With interventional radiology, most procedures are done on an outpatient basis or only require a short hospital stay; risk, pain and recovery time are often reduced; general anesthesia isn’t normally needed; and in some cases, these procedures are less expensive than traditional surgeries.

While they are less traumatic to the body, IR procedures aren’t for every case. Your doctor, along with an interventional radiologist or other specialist, will discuss your diagnosis with you to determine the best course of treatment.

Interventional radiology at Holland Hospital is used to diagnose and treat a wide range of conditions. Some common IR procedures include:

  • Angioplasty and stent placement (a procedure where a very small balloon is inserted into a blood vessel and used to open a blocked vessel; in some cases, a tiny metal scaffold/tube, called a stent, is also inserted to hold the blood vessel open)
  • Thrombolysis (a procedure to dissolve blood clots and restore blood flow)
  • Vertebroplasty (a procedure where a special cement mixture is injected into a spinal bone for the treatment of a compression fracture)
  • Needle biopsy (a diagnostic test for cancer and an alternative to surgical biopsy)
  • Interventional Oncology (a minimally invasive way of delivering cancer treatment directly to a tumor)
  • Paracentesis (removal of fluid that has collected in the abdomen)
  • Thoracentesis (removal of fluid from the space between the lungs and the chest wall)
  • Uterine fibroid embolization (a procedure that shrinks uterine fibroids, which are non-cancerous tumors)