Interventional Radiology

Interventional Radiologists at Advocate Christ Medical Center use advanced x-ray technology, ultrasound and other techniques to provide patients minimally invasive treatment alternatives to traditional surgery. Patients with medical conditions ranging from inoperable cancers to peripheral vascular disease to uterine fibroids can benefit from these targeted treatments.

Performed using imaging equipment such as x-rays, computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound, and miniature devices such as small tubes called catheters, the treatments involve no large incisions, pose less risk and less pain, and result in shorter recovery times. Most of the procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis so that patients can return to the normal activities, jobs and lifestyle that they enjoyed before their procedure.

Christ Medical Center's Interventional Radiologists offer minimally invasive procedures for a number of conditions:

Inoperable Cancer - Doctors can relieve pain and diagnose cancer without surgical biopsy. Treatments are targeted right to the point of disease, sparing as much healthy tissue as possible.

Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) - Patients who do not respond to medications, diet and exercise can benefit from minimally invasive treatments such as angioplasty and stenting.

Varicose Veins - Patients suffering with varicose veins can benefit from a number of treatments, all of which require only local anesthetic, result in rapid recovery time and have high success rates.

Uterine Fibroids - Fibroid tumors are treated using Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE), which blocks the arteries that supply blood to the fibroids and causes them to shrink.

Spinal fractures - Where bones in the arm or leg break, spinal vertebrae compress, resulting in considerable pain. Kyphoplasty is an outpatient procedure offered at Christ Medical Center to treat spinal fractures. It involves threading a small balloon to the compression area, inflating the balloon to restore normal positioning of the vertebrae, removing the balloon, and then cement is injected to stabilize the fracture for proper healing.

Other treatments offered by Interventional Radiologists at Advocate Christ Medical Center include:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysms
• Deep vein thrombosis
• High blood pressure associated with renal artery disease
• Infertility
• Urinary tract obstruction
• Venous access for dialysis and chemotherapy 

Additional Resources:

Society of Interventional Radiology 

Learn more about Interventional Radiology

Learn more about the services offered at Christ Medical Center