FAIRFAX, Va., March 2 A woman can't walk after the ER treated her blood clot. A man faced six hours of cancer surgery before learning about a two-hour minimally invasive treatment. A woman with painful uterine fibroids refused to have a hysterectomy. All three have one thing in common: They were each treated by interventional radiologists -- doctors whom they had never heard of and learned about on their own through non-traditional means -- by word of mouth, on the Web or from a friend.
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Dynamic Medical Field
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Interventional radiologists pioneered modern medicine and are responsible for much of the medical innovation and development of minimally invasive treatments that are commonplace today. From the invention of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were both first used to treat peripheral arterial disease in the legs, to drug-coated stents, balloon angioplasty, catheter delivery systems and clot-removing devices of today -- these vascular specialists continue to shape and change the medical landscape and improve patient care. IR treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time than traditional surgery. IRs reach the source of a medical problem through blood vessels or directly through a small nick in the skin to deliver a precise, minimally invasive treatment.
Minimally Invasive Treatments
Interventional radiology is a rapidly changing specialty that treats major health problems, including cancer, cardiovascular and venous disease, spine fractures, stroke and uterine fibroids.
Know Your Treatment Options
Minimally invasive treatments are available for many diseases, but few patients know to ask about them or to seek out a second opinion from an interventional radiologist. Many primary care doctors may not be aware of new IR advances, and most specialists (i.e., gynecologists, urologists) are surgically trained and may not know of new minimally invasive treatments. With people talking and sharing on the Internet, this may change -- with patients seeking the least invasive practitioner for consult first.
Society of Interventional Radiology Releases Video
SIR wants consumers to know that they have treatment options -- minimally invasive choices -- and direct access to these specialists. Its new video shows how IRs make major contributions to fighting cancer and other diseases -- often changing medical outcomes and patients' lives.
Interventional Radiology Showcases Innovation
"IR Innovation" will be showcased during the Society of Interventional Radiology's Annual Scientific Meeting March 13-18 in Tampa.
SOURCE The Society of Interventional Radiology
