Interventional radiologists at Sutter Roseville Medical Center are highly skilled at the use of catheters and image guidance to diagnose and treat. Many procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis, minimizing pain and recovery time so you can return to regular life quickly. Our specialists offer the latest in diagnostics and treatments, and are helping to develop new minimally invasive treatments for cancer.

Vascular Treatments

As we age, it is common to develop hardening of the arteries, usually caused by buildup of plaque, and poor circulation due to inactivity or diseases such as diabetes. We offer a number of minimally invasive solutions.

• Thrombolytic Therapy — A treatment for stroke and deep venous thrombosis (DVT), which can occur when a clot, called a thrombus, blocks blood flow in the brain or deep leg vein. Clot-busting medication is delivered via a catheter. For patients with DVT who cannot have thrombolysis, the interventional radiologist can insert a tiny filter to catch the clot if it breaks loose to prevent pulmonary embolism.
• Angioplasty and Stenting — To treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a catheter with a tiny balloon attached is advanced into the blocked or narrowed blood vessel through a small incision in the skin under image guidance until it reaches the blockage, where the balloon is inflated to open the artery.
• Atherectomy — Most often caused by the buildup of plaque in the vessels, PAD is a serious condition that can result in amputation if not treated. You can be screened for the disease using the ankle-brachial index test, which compares blood pressure in the arm and ankle. In addition to angioplasty and stenting, you may be a candidate for atherectomy, in which catheters bearing tiny tools are used to shave plaque from the inside of the arteries under image guidance.

Other Treatment

• Dialysis Access — For patients with kidney disease expected to need dialysis, a central venous catheter may be inserted to facilitate the dialysis process.
• Uterine Fibroid Embolization — Benign tumors that commonly develop in the walls of the uterus can be treated using a catheter to insert tiny particles into the uterine artery to cut off blood flow to the tumor and shrink the fibroid.
• Vertebroplasty — Used to stabilize and treat the pain associated with vertebral compression fractures through the injection of specially formulated bone cement directly into the spine.