FAIRFAX, Va. (May 15, 2018)—Society of Interventional Radiology President M. Victoria Marx, MD, FSIR, an interventional radiologist at Keck Medicine of USC, issued the following statement on the imageguided embolization treatment of First Lady Melania Trump.
The Society of Interventional Radiology wishes the First Lady, Melania Trump, a speedy recovery as she recuperates from her embolization treatment.
Embolization, a treatment created by interventional radiologists (IRs), is an important tool in the toolbox of IRs everywhere. Embolization can be used to stop bleeding, as in cases of trauma, or to starve a fibroid or tumor of its blood supply, as may be the case in the treatment performed on Mrs. Trump.
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In performing an embolization, the IR will make a small incision in the skin and insert a thin catheter into the artery. Using real-time image guidance, the interventional radiologist then guides the catheter to the point of treatment—in Mrs. Trump’s case, the kidney—and releases an agent to stop the flow of blood. This agent could be a coil, beads, gel or foam. Interventional radiologists are uniquely skilled to accurately deliver this treatment to patients because they are the only specialists with the combined necessary knowledge of imaging and the vascular system.
The beauty of this solution is that no open surgery is required, reducing both the patient’s risk and recovery time. In many cases, patients can go home the same day. Sometimes a short stay in the hospital is required, depending upon the patient and area treated.
In addition to renal masses, embolization can be used to treat a wide variety of diseases and conditions, including hemorrhage due to trauma; uterine fibroids and postpartum hemorrhage through uterine artery embolization (UAE); cancer through chemoembolization (TACE) or radioembolization (Y-90); enlarged prostate through prostatic artery embolization (PAE); and more. Early studies show it may even be a useful treatment for obesity when applied to thebariatric artery, known as bariatric artery embolization or BAE.
Visit sirweb.org/patients to learn more about how interventional radiology improves lives.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology
The Society of Interventional Radiology is a nonprofit, professional medical society representing more than 7,500 practicing interventional radiology physicians, trainees, students, scientists and clinical associates, dedicated to improving patient care through the limitless potential of image-guided therapies. SIR’s members work in a variety of settings and at different professional levels—from medical students and residents to university faculty and private practice physicians. Visit sirweb.org.
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