What’s the difference between an interventional radiologist and a surgeon?
A surgeon cuts you open, looks inside to see what’s wrong, fixes it, then sews you up. An interventional radiologist looks inside you with imaging (CT, ultrasound, x-rays, or MRI), then uses imaging to painlessly pass tiny tubes or needles into the site of disease and fixes it without an incision or stitches. General anesthesia is rarely used by IR’s, usually only mild IV sedation is needed. A wide variety of conditions can be treated with these non-surgical techniques, including: blocked arteries in the legs, kidney, brain and elsewhere, aortic aneurysms, uterine fibroid tumors, stroke, spine fractures, lung, liver and kidney cancer, liver failure, kidney failure, varicocele, pelvic pain in women, varicose vein disease, and many other conditions. If your hospital doesn’t have a strong interventional radiology presence, you may not be getting modern medical care there! For more information about the field of interventional radiology, go to www.SIRWEB.org. Contact us or call (630) 856-7
