Interventional Radiology

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In order to help an abscess heal, infected fluid needs to be drained. If you are scheduled to have an abscess drained, no preparation is required.

The physician will use ultrasound or computed tomography (CT) to locate the abscess and guide a needle to the fluid that will be removed. Once the needle reaches the abscess, it is exchanged for a wire and drainage catheter, which coils in the abscess and provides continuous drainage of the infected fluid.

Norton Healthcare locations offering abscess drainage:

If a bile duct becomes blocked, bile cannot drain normally from the liver, and jaundice develops. Biliary drainage involves inserting a fine plastic drainage tube, called a catheter, into the obstructed bile duct to allow the bile to drain.

The physician will use X-ray or ultrasound images to guide a fine needle into the liver. The needle will deliver the catheter to the duct. In some cases, a stent may be placed at the site of the obstruction to keep the passageway open.

Norton Healthcare locations offering biliary drainage:

Transcatheter chemoembolization is a minimally invasive procedure for some patients with liver cancer or other types of cancer that have spread to the liver. Chemotherapy drugs and tiny particles are injected directly into the tumor. The treatment attacks the cancer by providing stronger doses of cancer-killing drugs, blocking the artery supplying blood to the tumor and keeping the chemotherapy in direct contact with the tumor for a longer period of time.

This procedure requires bed rest for six to eight hours and usually a hospital stay of two days.

Norton Healthcare locations offering chemoembolization for liver tumors:

Needle biopsy is a medical test to identify an abnormal mass in the body. During the procedure, the doctor inserts a small needle, guided by X-ray or other another imaging technique such as ultrasound or CT, to the area to be tested. A sample of tissue is removed with a needle and given to a pathologist, who identifies the abnormality (for example, a cancerous or noncancerous tumor, infection or scar).

Needle biopsy does not produce a scar, usually is less painful and has a shorter recovery time than a surgical biopsy.

Norton Healthcare locations offering needle biopsy:

Nephrostomy tube placement is mainly used to decompress and temporarily drain an obstruction in the urinary system or renal system.

The patient is sedated and given a local anesthetic during the procedure. A small nick is made in the skin to insert a needle.  The interventional radiologist uses an imaging technique, such as ultrasound, to guide the needle into the fluid-containing structures inside the kidney.

Norton Healthcare locations offering nephrostomy tube placement:

Radioembolization delivers radiation directly to a liver tumor through millions of microscopic beads. The radioactive beads are injected into the tumor through a small catheter. The tumor absorbs the beads, and the radiation works to destroy the cancer. This form of radiation targets tumor cells without harming healthy liver tissue. Radioembolization can deliver hundreds of times the radiation than conventional radiation.

This minimally invasive procedure is performed on an outpatient basis. The most common side effect is fatigue for seven to 10 days.

Norton Healthcare locations offering radioembolization for liver tumors:

Stents are small, flexible tubes made of plastic or wire mesh used to hold open pathways that have been narrowed or blocked. An interventional radiologist can use a stent to treat blocked blood vessels without surgery. Stents also can be used to treat bile duct blockages or obstructions caused by a tumor.

Stents require no surgical incision — just a small nick in the skin. The patient usually returns to normal activity shortly after the procedure.

Norton Healthcare locations offering stents:

A breast biopsy, or removal of a small section of tissue with pinpoint accuracy, is a common procedure used for early detection of breast cancer. Stereotactic breast biopsy is simple and safe. It is performed by our team of breast imaging specialists.

Advanced computer imaging technology is used to map the precise location of the suspicious tissue. The sample is sent to a pathologist, a physician who specializes in analyzing tissue samples under a microscope. Stereotactic breast biopsy takes approximately one hour.

Norton Healthcare locations offering stereotactic breast biopsy:

Uterine artery embolization treats symptomatic leiomyomata (fibroids) by blocking arteries and restricting blood supply, causing the fibroids to shrink. The patient remains conscious but sedated, and a local anesthetic eliminates any pain. The physician makes a small incision in the skin and inserts a tiny tube into the femoral artery. An injection of tiny plastic particles cuts off blood flow to the tumor, causing it to shrink. The procedure usually requires an overnight hospital stay, and many women resume light activities within a few days. This is an alternative to hysterectomy, usually with a much-shortened hospital stay and much more rapid recovery. Most women are able to return to work within two weeks.
Norton Healthcare locations offering uterine artery embolization:

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