Interventional Radiology

Interventional radiology is a medical specialty using minimally invasive, image-guided procedures to diagnose and treat a variety of conditions.

At University Medical Center at Princeton, our board certified, Ivy League-trained interventional radiologists use their expertise in reading X-ray, ultrasound, MRI and other diagnostic imaging to guide catheters and other tiny instruments through blood vessels or the skin to treat diseases without surgery. Our interventional radiology facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technology that allows digital images to be easily manipulated and accessible from any location.

Medical doctors trained as interventional radiologists use diagnostic imaging to see inside a patient’s body, pinpoint the medical problem and devise a route to the site without surgery. Catheters or other instruments are then guided to the site to treat the disease or tumors directly at the source, through a small incision. With the use of interventional radiology, there is lower risk to the patient, reduced or no hospital stays, limited anesthesia, less pain and quicker recoveries.

At University Medical Center, interventional radiology is used to treat a wide range of diseases and conditions. These include the field’s pioneering procedures of angioplasty and catheter-delivered stents to treat blocked arteries. Our fellowship trained medical team is one of the few in the state using aortic stent grafts to treat aortic aneurysms, and was one of the first in the state to perform advanced angioplasty procedures known as cryoplasty, which actually freezes plaque in blocked arteries so the body can efficiently remove it.

At UMCP, interventional radiology is also used to successfully treat:

• Uterine fibroid tumors using a minimally invasive procedure called uterine fibroid embolization to shrink the tumors as an alternative to hysterectomy
• Liver and other cancers using chemoembolization to carry chemotherapy directly to the site to shrink tumors that normally are resistant to treatment
• Spinal fractures from conditions such as osteoporosis by injecting a cement-like substance for stabilization using a process known as vertebroplasty
• Peripheral vascular disease by unblocking arteries