Patients
- Angiography
- Angioplasty and Stenting
- Aortic Aneurysms
- Biliary Drainage and Stenting
- Carotid Artery Stenting
- Central Venous Access
- Colonic Stenting
- Fibroids
- Gastrointestinal Haemorrhage
- Gastrostomy
- Hepatic Malignancies
- Kidney Tumour Ablation
- Minimally Invasive Treatments for Vascular Disease
- Nephrostomy
- Oesophageal Stents
- Pelvic Venous Congestion Syndrome
- Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy
- Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations
- Ureteric Stenting
- Varicoceles
- Varicose Veins
- Vascular Malformations
- Vertebral Compression Fractures
- Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty
Patients
View our presentation on the benefits of Interventional Radiology
Contents |
Patients
The British Society of Interventional Radiology Quality Improvement Initiative aims to improve quality and access to Interventional Radiology services across the UK. We wish to develop a UK wide network of IR sites contributing to and sharing improvement in IR services . The project is supported by the BSIR, Royal College of Radiologists, National Imaging Board and DoH Improvement Directorate. This website has been developed as a resource to support improvement in IR services.
The patient section of the website includes information about
What is Interventional Radiology?
Information about specific procedures
How can I make a comment.
Links to further information
Please use the links on the left of the page to access information. We are always looking for suggestions to improve the site and it’s content please email us at admin@bsir-qi.org.
What is Interventional Radiology?
Interventional Radiology is a range of treatments performed under image guidance performed by specially trained doctors.
What are the advantages of Interventional Radiology?
Interventional Radiology is much less invasive than conventional treatments and most procedures will be done through incisions less than 5mm. It is often possible to avoid general anaesthetics and the majority of our procedures are performed under local anaesthesia sometimes combined with sedation. This means patients can recover faster, often need less time off work and the cost of procedures are reduced.
What treatments can be undertaken with Interventional Radiology?
There are now a huge range of procedures possible using Interventional Radiology techniques. We can’t describe them all but these fall into the following main groups;
Vascular Disease : where Interventional Radiology techniques started over 40 years ago and probably the most developed. Treatments include opening narrowed vessels, blocking bleeding vessels, and treating aneurysms (bulge in a vessel).
Cancer: treatment to kill small tumours (ablation techniques), deliver chemotherapy to larger tumours (transcatheter chemo-embolization), and provide symptomatic relief for bleeding and blockages of vessels and tubes caused by cancer.
Renal disease: preserving haemodialysis access by treating narrowing and blockages in fistulae.
Acute Bleeding: IR is uniquely placed to stop bleeding from a variety of sites with minimal access and trauma.
How is it done?
There are different techniques depending on the procedure but put broadly we access the natural routes in the body if at all possible. This is particularly suitable for the various tubes in the body such as blood vessels, bowel, and urinary tract. We use an accessible entry point and with the help of catheters and other medical devices travel in the vessel to the point of disease. Because we are travelling within the natural passages of the body there is less pain and trauma.
Are there any risks?
Every medical procedure carries risks. The risks will vary depending on the individual procedure and patient. It is essential to speak about the procedure to your doctor. Information about many different individual treatments is available on this website- look through the links on this page.
How can I find out more about Interventional Radiology or a specific procedure?
Please use the links on this page to look for information on a specific treatment. There is also a short presentation about Interventional Radiology. We have included links to other external sites that have useful patient information.
The procedure I’m having isn’t listed
Unfortunately we can’t list every procedure but we are trying to expand the range of procedures covered. While we can’t respond to individual requests directly, it is very helpful if you mail us the procedure or information you had hoped to find and we will include it in our list of potential future topics. Please use the listed contact address.
How can I make a comment
We are always keen to get suggestions to improve the information available on the website, either email us at admin@bsir-qi.org or submit using the webform.
