Definition of Interventional radiologist

Interventional radiologist: A radiologist who uses image guidance methods to gain access to vessels and organs. Interventional radiologists can treat certain conditions through the skin (percutaneously) that might otherwise require surgery. The technology includes the use of balloons, catheters, microcatheters, stents, and therapeutic embolization (deliberately clogging up a blood vessel). The specialty of interventional radiology overlaps with other fields, including interventional cardiology, vascular surgery, endoscopy, laparoscopy, and other minimally invasive techniques, such as biopsies. Specialists performing interventional radiology procedures today include not only radiologists but also other types of physicians such as general surgeons, vascular surgeons, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, gynecologists, and urologists.