interventional

Interventional medicine is a medical discipline that uses minimally invasive procedures to diagnose and treat disease. Practitioners rely on image guidance and small instruments—such as catheters, wires, and needles—introduced through the skin or natural orifices to reach target areas. The approach aims to reduce tissue damage, shorten recovery, and often enable outpatient care.

Imaging modalities such as fluoroscopy, ultrasound, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging guide planning and execution. Subspecialties include interventional radiology, interventional cardiology, and interventional neuroradiology. Procedures may be catheter-based or percutaneous, performed via vascular access or direct tissue puncture to diagnose, treat, or palliate disease.

Common interventional procedures include angioplasty with or without stent placement, embolization to control bleeding or deprive a lesion of blood supply, thermal or chemical ablation of tumors or abnormal tissue, and image-guided biopsy or drainage (for example of abscesses or fluid collections). Vascular access, catheter-directed thrombolysis, and stenting of venous or biliary tracts are also performed.

Interventional methods offer reduced invasiveness, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery for many conditions, but carry risks such as bleeding, infection, radiation exposure, contrast reactions, and procedure-specific complications. Training typically requires a residency in radiology or cardiology followed by a fellowship in an interventional specialty, with ongoing quality assurance and adherence to professional guidelines from bodies such as the Society of Interventional Radiology.

Since the mid-20th century, interventional techniques have expanded across medicine and continue to evolve with advances in imaging, materials, and energy-based therapies.