Interventional radiology (abbreviated to IR or VIR for Vascular and Interventional Radiology) is a medical subspecialty of radiology that uses minimally invasive image-guided procedures to diagnose and treat diseases in nearly every organ system including, but not limited to vascular, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, genitourinary, pulmonary, musculoskeletal, and the central nervous system.

The concept behind interventional radiology is to diagnose and treat patients using the least invasive techniques available to minimise risk, improve health outcomes and overall recovery time.

If you will be receiving intravenous sedation, it is important that you do not eat or drink anything after midnight prior to the exam. Any medications can still be taken with only a small amount of water. Otherwise no special preparation is required.

When booking your procedure, a specialist will explain all preparation required prior to the examination and also what time you will be required to arrive.

On the day of the procedure you will also have the opportunity to talk to your Pure Healthcare Radiologist about the preparation details before your procedure and also the details post the procedure. After the procedure you will also be brought into a recovery room for observation and if you are going home afterwards, discharge instructions will be given to you.

The technologist will position you on the exam table, usually lying flat on your back. They may place monitors on you to measure your blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen level. They may also place an intravenous (IV) in your arm for medications and if a sedative or anesthesic is planned, you will be sedated for the procedure.  The technologist will be available for you to ask any questions prior and after the procedure too.

The duration of an interventional radiology procedure will vary depending what procedure is required. The Pure Healthcare Customer Service Team will advise you of the duration for your procedure at the time of booking your appointment.

Images obtained from your scan are digitally recorded. At Pure Healthcare, a subspecialty trained Radiologist interprets the images obtained and provides a report for your doctor within 24 hours.

At Pure Healthcare our doctors are very experienced with these types of injections. For your injection we will use Dexamethasone , which is safe to inject around nerves and the spine.

Pure Healthcare provides the added assurance of performing these procedures under CT guidance, which confirms the position of the needle before injecting. All Pure Healthcare patients are consented by a clinical staff member prior to agreeing to have the procedure. Consent involves discussing the procedure and associated risks.