Interventional therapeutic procedures in radiology.

The changing role of diagnostic radiology in modern medicine is reviewed. Special emphasis is placed on the ever-increasing use made of diagnostic procedures for therapeutic purposes. Percutaneous catheter introduction, formerly utilized only for diagnostic vascular procedures, has now been adapted for use in the renal and biliary systems. Treatment may be definitive and may replace surgery. Examples include embolization for the control of internal hemorrhage, removal of retained biliary calculi and intravascular foreign bodies, drainage of a fluid-filled cavity, and dilatation of an area of arterial stenosis. Palliative treatment, as part of the management of malignant tumors, includes intraarterial chemotherapy, preoperative embolization and percutaneous relief of inoperable obstructions of the renal or biliary tracts. Illustrative cases are presented and the indications, techniques and complications of these procedures are discussed.