Interventional Radiology Treatments

Arterial Embolization with Radiation or Chemotherapy


Radiofrequency Ablation

Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) offers a localized treatment that kills the tumor cells with heat, while sparing the healthy liver tissue. Thus, this treatment is much easier on the patient than systemic therapy. Radiofrequency energy can be given without affecting the patient's overall health and most people can resume their usual activities in a few days. RFA can be used for multiple tumors and can be performed by an interventional radiologist using non-surgical techniques (directly through the skin with X-ray guidance) or by a surgeon (through a laparascope or a traditional surgical incision). A small needle is guided into the tumor. From the tip of the needle, radiofrequency energy (similar to microwaves) is transmitted to the tip of the needle, where it produces heat in the tissues. The dead tumor tissue shrinks and slowly forms a scar. The FDA has approved RFA for the treatment of liver tumors.

Complex Biliary Drainage

Usually performed by an interventional radiologist with the help of X-ray guidance. Drains are placed to improve bile drainage that has been compromised by benign or malignant tumors. In some patients, such as those with liver cancer or individuals who have had an injury to the liver, the bile ducts become blocked and bile cannot drain from the liver. The interventional radiologist places a catheter through the skin and into the bile ducts to drain the bile. In some cases, a small metal cylinder, called a stent, is placed in the liver to hold the blocked area open. A catheter may also be placed to drain bile in patients.

TIPS or Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt

Seen most frequently in patients with liver disease such as cirrhosis or hepatitis, portal hypertension is a condition in which the normal flow of blood through the liver is slowed or blocked by scarring or other damage. Patients with the condition are at risk of internal bleeding or other life-threatening complications.

Interventional radiologists treat portal hypertension without surgery, using a procedure called TIPS (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt). The doctor threads a catheter through a small incision in the skin near the neck and guides it to the blocked blood vessels in the liver. Under X-ray guidance, the doctor creates a tunnel in the liver through which the blocked blood can flow. The tunnel is held open by the insertion of a small metal cylinder, called a stent.




Chemoembolization is a palliative, not a curative, treatment. It can be extremely effective in treating primary liver cancers, especially when combined with other therapies. It has shown promising early results with some types of metastatic tumors. Although the individual materials used in this treatment are FDA approved, the treatment itself is not approved for intra-arterial therapy of liver tumors.