Interventional Radiology

Interventional radiology is a minimally invasive way of diagnosing and treating a range of conditions, including abnormal blood vessels and cancerous or non-cancerous tumors.

The interventional radiology team specializes in providing minimally invasive, targeted testing and treatment procedures for children using imaging guidance.

Our interventional radiologists use their expertise in reading X-rays, ultrasound, and other medical images to guide small instruments through the blood vessels or other areas of the body to diagnose and treat disease directly at the source. These procedures often replace open surgery procedures. Often the procedures involve very small incisions, are less painful, and many times mean a shorter recovery time for your child.

Individual procedures are tailored to your child’s condition and needs, but procedures generally involve the radiologist guiding a small needle, catheter or other medical equipment into the body through a very small incision in the skin. Your child’s radiologist will use X-ray, CT scan or ultrasound to see into the body and guide the instrument.

We perform more than 350 different procedures in our state-of-the-art interventional radiology suite. Some of the procedures we perform include:

• Biopsies
• Using a small tube to remove or replace fluids in a blood vessel or organ
• Guiding small instruments into the body to directly deliver materials like medications or radiofrequency energy to destroy cancer or other abnormal tissues without harming the healthy tissues
• Salivary gland injections to treat excessive drooling, which is called sialorrhea, a common issue in children with neurological impairments
• Varicocele embolization to treat swollen veins in the scrotum
• Neurointerventional procedures to treat neurovascular conditions, which are conditions affecting the blood vessels of the brain or spine
• Sclerotherapy procedures to treat vascular malformations
• G-J tube placement
• Ablation of osteoid osteoma
• PICC placement, and other vascular access
• Lumbar puncture
• Joint injections

Request Form for Interventional Radiology Services

The Interventional Radiology Request Form can be used by the referring provider to order interventional radiology services/procedures at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

Request Form for Interventional Radiology Services

What to expect

A member of our team will call you the day before your child’s procedure to confirm your arrival time and give instructions about what your child can and cannot eat or drink before the procedure. Anesthesia is used for many of our patients. This will be discussed with you and addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Please bring your insurance and ID cards to your child’s appointment. When you arrive you will check in at registration, which is located on the second floor of the main hospital. From there we will escort you to the area where the radiologist and anesthesiologist will talk to you and your child before the procedure. You’ll be shown to a waiting area where you can wait during your child’s procedure.

You may bring comfort items to help your child feel more at ease during the appointment, such as a favorite stuffed animal or toy, blanket, sippy cup, book or tablet, or hand-held gaming device.

Follow up

We will discuss follow up care at your clinic or procedure appointment. For diagnostic procedures, results will go to the doctor who referred you to us.