Deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot or thrombus in a deep vein. It is most common in the leg. But one may develop in the arm or other part of the body. Part of the clot, called an embolus, can break off and travel to the lungs. This is a pulmonary embolus (PE). This can cut off the flow of blood. PE is an emergency and may cause death. If you have symptoms that may mean a blood clot in the lungs, call 911 or get emergency help. Symptoms of a blood clot in the lungs include chest pain, trouble breathing, coughing (may cough up blood), a fast heartbeat, sweating, and fainting.

Patients undergoing dialysis for kidney failure may develop narrowing and blockage of their dialysis access grafts. We can open up failing or failed grafts using a combination of clot-dissolving drugs, clot-busting tools, angioplasty and stents. These techniques may allow for a longer use of a graft, avoiding the need for surgical revision. We can also place catheters directly into the veins of renal failure patients for dialysis.

Gastrostomy Inova vascular and interventional radiologists perform a gastrostomy when a patient needs to receive nutrition directly through a tube inserted into the stomach or to drain the stomach when its other outlets are blocked. We insert the tube into the stomach under X-ray guidance requiring only local anesthesia. This procedure is a good alternative to endoscopies. Jejunostomy The jejunum is the small bowel. A jejunostomy is similar to a gastrostomy except instead of inserting a catheter into the stomach, the physician inserts it into the small bowel in order to provide nutrition.

About 10 percent of patients with high blood pressure have a narrowing of the artery to one or both kidneys, which causes their hypertension. This condition is known as renovascular hypertension. Renal duplex, a sophisticated ultrasound technique, aids in the diagnosis of patients with renal artery stenosis. This noninvasive technology is useful in selecting patients for further evaluation and possible treatment. We often treat renovascular hypertension with angioplasty.

In an inferior vena cava filter placement procedure, interventional radiologists use image guidance to place a filter in the inferior vena cava (IVC), the large vein in the abdomen that returns blood from the lower half of the body to the heart. Blood clots that develop in the veins of the leg or pelvis, a condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), occasionally break up and large pieces of the clot can travel to the lungs.

Fallopian Tube Recanalization Fallopian tube recanalization (FTR) is an innovative, non-surgical procedure to diagnose and treat blockages in the fallopian tubes. FTR requires no anesthesia or incisions and is highly successful in resolving a wide range of fertility problems. In FTR, the interventional radiologist places a catheter in the uterus and injects X-ray dye to view the uterine cavity. If the physician detects a blockage, he or she will thread another catheter into the fallopian tube to open it.

TIPS (Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt) TIPS is a procedure Inova vascular and interventional radiologists use to non-surgically treat portal hypertension. Portal hypertension occurs when liver scarring or damage (cirrhosis) blocks the normal flow of blood through the liver. The physician inserts a catheter in the skin near the neck and guides it to the blocked blood vessels in the liver. The physician constructs a tunnel in the liver so the blood may flow normally using X-ray guidance. An inserted metal stent keeps the tunnel open.

Chronic inflammation leading to musculoskeletal pain has garnered interest in the past decade with the success of genicular artery embolization for knee pain secondary to osteoarthritis. Outside the knee joint, musculoskeletal embolization has been applied to other anatomical locations, mainly shoulder pain secondary to adhesive capsulitis and elbow pain secondary to lateral epicondylitis. The success of these early trials and other case reports highlights the efficacy of musculoskeletal embolization and its future potential.

Varicose veins in the pelvis can produce constant, dull pain and pressure in the abdomen and back. We refer to this as pelvic congestion syndrome. Traditionally difficult to diagnose and treat, we can now do so using ovarian vein embolization— a new and highly effective minimally invasive procedure that shrinks the veins by blocking blood flow. The interventional radiologist inserts a thin catheter through the neck, threading it into the swollen pelvic veins using X-ray guidance. They insert tiny coils to block the veins, cutting blood flow to the effected area and relieving painful pressure.

Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is a condition in which the arteries that carry blood to the arms or legs become narrowed or clogged with plaque, interfering with normal blood flow. Interventional radiologists can evaluate and treat the condition using angiography, ball angioplasty and stent placement, and thrombolytic therapy.