FAQs

What Are Hemodialysis Accesses? The kidneys eliminate excess water and impurities from the body. When they fail the body retains the impurities and water making the patient sick. The best treatment for renal failure is renal transplant, but for several reasons this is not always practicable. 2 substitutes, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are available to […]

What are percutaneous vertebroplasty & kyphoplasty? Vertebroplasty is restoring strength to a fractured vertebra (backbone) by injecting a chemical (bone cement) into it through a hollow tube introduced into the bone from the back. The chemical permeates the lacelike spaces in the bone including the fracture planes, hardens, and reinforces it. Kyphoplasty is the repair […]

What is peripheral arterial disease PAD? All arteries that do not supply the heart or directly supply the brain are peripheral arteries. Many conditions can affect the walls of these arteries and cause them to narrow or obstruct. This is peripheral arterial disease. Common conditions that increase a person’s risk of peripheral arterial disease are […]

Most interventional radiological (IR) procedures are safe and help patients immensely, but sometimes they are associated with complications. Some complications are inherent to the nature of a procedure, while others are not and are preventable by taking some precautions before, during, and after a procedure. Here, I offer general guidelines to physicians and patients on […]

What are fibroids? Fibroids are benign tumors of the uterus that have near-zero risk of becoming cancerous. The uterus could have one or several fibroids located in any of its different layers. Like the uterus, the growth of fibroids is influenced by circulating female hormones. For this reason, fibroids and the problems they cause are […]

Who are interventional radiologists? First, let me explain who interventional radiologists are not: they are not surgeons, radiation oncologists, cardiologists, oncologists, gastroenterologists, internists, and so on. They are physicians, who, like other physicians, went through the rigorous paths of qualification to bear the “MD” appellation. They then went through additional residency training that required 1 […]

What is percutaneous biopsy? Per means ‘through’ in Latin; ‘cutaneous’ derives from cutis, which is Latin for skin. Bio- is a combining form from the Greek word bios, meaning life, and opsis is Greek for vision. Percutaneous biopsy, then, is the removal of living tissue through the skin, usually with a needle. Tissue can be […]

What is biliary decompression and stenting? The word biliary derives from the small tubes or canals in the liver called bile ducts that drain bile — which the liver makes — into the gallbladder and the intestine. These tubes branch out like a tree, with their main stem or trunk running out of the liver […]

What are body fluids? Blood is body fluid, but a natural one, and so is cerebrospinal fluid which bathes the brain and the spinal cord. There are, however, times when ill-health in specific parts of the body induces the formation of abnormal collections of fluid which, if not diagnosed and drained, will cause more problems. […]

What is embolization? The word embolus comes from the Greek word embolos, which means a plug. It is a clot or other plugging material carried by blood from one site to another to obstruct the flow of blood. Embolization is pathologic when blood clot from a vein in the lower limb or the pelvis is […]

What is uterine fibroid embolization? Uterine fibroids are benign tumors (noncancerous) that grow in the uterus. There may be one or countless fibroids and they grow in any part of the uterus, frequently disfiguring it and making it grow to enormous proportions. These tumors grow and multiply under the influence of the female hormone estrogen, […]

What is biliary decompression and stenting? The word biliary derives from the small tubes or canals in the liver called bile ducts that drain bile — which the liver makes — into the gallbladder and the intestine. These tubes branch out like a tree, with their main stem or trunk running out of the liver […]

What is percutaneous gastrostomy? Per is Latin for through. Cutaneous comes from cutis, Latin for skin. Gastro derives from gaster, Greek for stomach. Stomy is from stomatos, Greek for mouth. Thus, ‘percutaneous gastrostomy’ means making a hole (or opening/mouth) in the stomach through the skin. It is the deliberate construction of a track from the […]

What is uterine fibroid embolization? Uterine fibroids are benign tumors (noncancerous) that grow in the uterus. There may be one or countless fibroids and they grow in any part of the uterus, frequently disfiguring it and making it grow to enormous proportions. These tumors grow and multiply under the influence of the female hormone estrogen, […]

What is a central venous access? A central venous access (also known as a central line or a central venous catheter) is a catheter placed into a patient with its tip advanced into a central vein. The right atrium, the superior and inferior vena cava, the subclavian veins, the brachiocephalic veins, and the iliac veins […]

What is biliary decompression and stenting? The word biliary derives from the small tubes or canals in the liver called bile ducts that drain bile — which the liver makes — into the gallbladder and the intestine. These tubes branch out like a tree, with their main stem or trunk running out of the liver […]

What is percutaneous gastrostomy? Per is Latin for through. Cutaneous comes from cutis, Latin for skin. Gastro derives from gaster, Greek for stomach. Stomy is from stomatos, Greek for mouth. Thus, ‘percutaneous gastrostomy’ means making a hole (or opening/mouth) in the stomach through the skin. It is the deliberate construction of a track from the […]

What is the aorta? The aorta is the large artery that carries blood from the heart and distributes it to the rest of the body. The portion of the artery in the chest is called the thoracic aorta, while the portion in the abdomen or belly is the abdominal aorta. In the chest and abdomen […]

What is peripheral arterial disease? An artery carries blood away from the heart, while a vein carries blood to it (except the pulmonary artery which carries blood to the lungs from the heart). Conditions like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and high cholesterol, especially when controlled poorly, and cigarette smoking damage arteries over time. In time, the […]

What is the lower limb? Humans are bipeds — animals with 2 legs. We also have 2 arms. In medical terminology each of the legs and arms is called a limb or an extremity, the arms being upper limbs (or upper extremities) and the legs the lower limbs (or lower extremities). What are the arteries […]

What is the carotid artery? An artery is a vessel that carries fresh blood from the heart to another part of the body, while a vein returns used blood to the heart to be pumped to the lungs for oxygenation. (The exceptions to this rule are the pulmonary artery, which carries impure blood from the […]

What is stenting of the carotid artery? The carotid artery carries fresh blood from the heart to the neck, the face, and the head including the anterior brain. Two carotid arteries arise from the aorta, the large artery in the chest that comes directly from the left heart; one runs through the right neck, while […]

What is uterine fibroid embolization? Uterine fibroids are benign tumors (noncancerous) that grow in the uterus. There may be one or countless fibroids and they grow in any part of the uterus, frequently disfiguring it and making it grow to enormous proportions. These tumors grow and multiply under the influence of the female hormone estrogen, […]

What is a central venous access? A central venous access (also known as a central line or a central venous catheter) is a catheter placed into a patient with its tip advanced into a central vein. The right atrium, the superior and inferior vena cava, the subclavian veins, the brachiocephalic veins, and the iliac veins […]