The Harley Street Clinic Interventional Radiology Centre

Treatments we offer

• Biliary interventions icon plus

  The liver produces bile, which is stored in the gallbladder and released into the small intestine when we digest food. We can offer a range of biliary interventions to treat narrowed or blocked bile ducts, which if left untreated can cause painful inflammation and even infection of the liver, gallbladder and ducts. We may also have to drain excess bile out of the body as part of this process. 

  The majority of interventions are carried minimally invasive, and most patients can return to their normal activities within a few days. 

• Nephrostomy and Antegrade stenting icon plus

  The ureter carried urine from the kidneys to the bladder, but if the ureter becomes blocked the a stent can be used to widen a blocked or narrowed ureter and restore the flow of urine.

  In cases when a stent cannot be placed, we perform a nephrostomy. This is where a catheter is guided into the kidney and connected to an external bag that collects urine. Our team will provide you with all the information you need on how to use, clean and empty the bag.  

• Image-guided biopsy and drainages icon plus

  Image guided biopsy is a minimally-invasive method of checking whether tissue is malignant (cancerous). The consultant will us an imaging technique, such as ultrasound, to guide the needle during the biopsy to access a small piece of tissue from hard to areas, such as the prostate or liver. We can then diagnose cell types and determine the nature and extent of various diseases. Unlike a surgical biopsy, patients recover quickly and are usually only in hospital for a few hours.

  Similarly, ultrasound or CT imaging can be used to locate a hard to reach abscess, which can then be drained using a catheter. 

• Vascular access including Port-a-cath, PICC and Hickman line insertion icon plus

  Vascular access procedures see an interventional radiologist insert a catheter into the blood vessels to allow blood to be drawn from or delivered into a patient’s blood stream. This can be to deliver medications, such as intravenous (IV) antibiotic treatment or chemotherapy or to deliver blood transfusions. It’s a minimally invasive method, which can avoid the need for multiple needle punctures. 

  There are a number of different types of vascular catheters we use and some, like a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), can provide central IV access for several weeks and months.

• Chemoembolisation icon plus

  We use chemoembolisation to deliver high doses of chemotherapy directly into the arteries that supply liver tumours with blood. The chemotherapy drug is injected via catheter along with an agent that works to limit blood supply. This means that while the maximum amount of the drug reaches the tumour while we simultaneously block the tumour’s blood supply in order to help shrink it. Depending on the size, location and type of liver cancer you may need multiple sessions.

• Radioembolisation icon plus

  Radioembolisation is also used to treat liver cancer. Small amounts of radioactive isotopes are injected into the blood vessels that supply the tumour, using a catheter, delivering a high dose of radiation to the tumour while sparing the normal tissue around it. 

  Because the radiation is delivered directly to the tumour, the dose is higher than in standard radiation therapy although there can be unpleasant side effects but our team are on hand to support you before, during and after your treatment.

• Tumour ablation icon plus

  Tumour ablation involves using imaging techniques such as ultrasound or CT to guide specialised needles to the tumour. These needles use either extreme heat or cold, to destroy the tumour without damaging surrounding tissue. As a minimally invasive technique that uses a catheter, we avoid open surgery, and therefore patients tend to recover more quickly and spend less time in hospital.

• IVC filter insertion icon plus

  IVC refers to the Inferior Vena Cava, which is a large vein in the body that transports blood from the lower half of your body to the heart. By inserting a filter within this important blood vessel, we can trap large clots that develop in the lower body before they risk travelling and causing a blockage near the heart or lungs. The procedure is ideal for those patients who cannot be given blood thinning medication or those diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

• Superior and Inferior Vena Cava stenting icon plus

  Stenting involves inserting a small mesh tube, known as a stent, into the blood vessels to keep them open and improve blood flow. The procedure is carried out under local anaesthetic and a catheter is passed into through the groin or the wrist. A small balloon is then mounted on the catheter and inflated using fluid, which opens the narrowed blood vessel and the stent is then inserted. Patients are normally able to go home the same day or the following morning. 

• Varicocoele embolisation icon plus

  Varicoceles are enlarged veins within the male scrotum, which if left untreated can cause pain, swelling and infertility. Embolisation involves using a catheter to inject a small amount of fluid into the area and divert blood flow away from the varicocele. It’s a minimally invasive procedure, that often sees patients go home on the same day.

• Uterine artery embolisation icon plus

  Fibroids are benign growths that can be found in the uterus. Although they are benign, if they become large they can cause painful symptoms. Uterine artery embolisation involves passing a catheter into the blood vessels and inject a controlled amount of fluid into the arteries in order the block the fibroid of blood supply. This causes the fibroid to shrink.

  It’s a minimally-invasive procedure that only takes about an hour to perform, and patients tend to recover very quickly.

• Prostate artery embolisation icon plus

  An enlarged prostate may begin to block the urethra, causing urinary incontinence and the need to pass urine frequently or urgently. Prostate artery embolisation sees an interventional radiologist insert a catheter and guide this into the vessels that supply blood to the prostate and inject tiny particles into the blood, reducing blood supply. 

  The reduced blood supply will see the prostate begin to shrink, and symptoms usually improve within days of the procedure.

• Venous and Arterial interventions icon plus

  We can treat arteries that have become narrowed or clogged as well as venous diseases such as varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In cases like these we can use minimally-invasive methods such as ablation and filter placements to treat diseased or damaged blood vessels without the need for traditional open vascular surgery, which often has a longer recovery time.