Page "Interventional radiology" Paragraph 9

Today many conditions that once required surgery can be treated nonsurgically by interventional radiologists.

Through a small nick in the skin, they use tiny catheters and miniature instruments so small they can be run through a person ’ s network of arteries to treat at the site of illness internally, saving the patient from open invasive surgery.

While no treatment is risk free, the risks of interventional procedures are far lower than the risks of open surgery, and are a major advance in medicine for patients.