Interventional Radiology

Interventional radiology is the specialty that treats disease from the inside, using live imaging to guide needles, thin tubes called catheters and tiny instruments through a small skin opening, usually at the wrist or groin. It is a treating specialty, not only a diagnostic one: interventional radiologists block the blood supply to fibroids or an enlarged prostate, treat liver tumours through their arteries or with heat, open narrowed vessels, take biopsies, drain infected fluid and strengthen collapsed vertebrae. It suits people who want an alternative to open surgery, or who cannot have an operation at all. International patients travel for it to reach procedures that are not offered close to home, to get an expert view on whether a minimally invasive route suits them, and to complete treatment within a short stay.