Patient Resources: Neurointervention and Interventional Neuroradiology



Neurointervention (Interventional Neuroradiology, Endovascular Neurosurgery, Interventional Neurology) refers to a set of minimally invasive techniques of treating certain diseases encountered in the medical practices of neuroradiologists, neurologists and neurosurgeons.
It is one of the most technologically advanced medical field and demands very high levels of disease understanding, in-depth subject knowledge, highly skilled sets of hands, courage, academic orientation and ability to look into the future.
Doctors from various backgrounds learn this art and super-specialize. These include radiologists, neurosurgeons and neurologists and they are called interventional neuroradiologists, endovascular neurosurgeons and interventional neurologists respectively, each of these terms though mean the same.The training of neurointerventionists involves radiological work, clinical neurology, ICU management and the cathlab work. It is a truly interdisciplinary medical field. The initial discovery of neuro-angiography was made of Egas Moniz, a neurophysician, as well as by Japanese neurosurgeons. However, the field was developed, techniques perfected and guidelines setup by neuroradiologists. With the advent of better equipments and infusion of high end technology, the ability to do therapeutic procedures has increased drastically over the last 25 years. This has brought about the interest of neurologists and neurosurgeons resulting in a truly dynamic amalgamation of various fields and thoughts.
What do interventional neuroradiologists do?
  1. They work in cathlabs (angiography suits)
  2. They enter the blood vessel to the brain as well as inside the brain with minimally invasive techniques via small needles in the arm or thigh and perform various procedures. These procedure include: DSA (Digital Substraction Angiography), Coiling of aneurysms, embolization of arteriovenous malformations and dural arteriovenous fistula of brain and spine, angioplasty and stenting of various blood vessels to prevent stroke, acute stroke treatment, embolization of tumors.
  3. Direct puncture and embolization of vascular malformations of face and skull
  4. Direct puncture in spine to perform a variety of procedure: vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, discography, procedures to relieve back pain etc.
  5. They work closely with clinicians, surgeons, anesthesists, intensivists in the overall management of patients with brain hemorrhage, acute or chronic stroke, neck and back ache and vascular lesions of the head and neck and spine.
List of procedures performed

  1. Various diagnostic angiograms (DSA) for head, neck and spine (Cerebral DSA, Carotid DSA, Spinal DSA)
  2. Aneurysm coiling: simple, balloon assisted, stent assisted
  3. Spasmolysis: treatment for vasospam developing in the course of subarachnoid hemorrhage
  4. Arterio-venous malformation embolization
  5. Dural arterio-venous fistula embolizaation
  6. Angioplasty and stenting for intracranial arterial stenosis
  7. Preoperative or curative embolization of tumors located in head, face, neck and spine
  8. Treatment of epistaxis (bleeding from nose)
  9. Treatment of uncontrolled bleeding after trauma/injury to head, neck and face
  10. Carotid artery angioplasty with stenting
  11. Vertebral artery angioplasty with stenting
  12. Intra-arterial thrombolysis in cases of acute stroke
  13. Inferior petrosal sinus sampling for Cushing's syndrome and disease
  14. Intracranial venous stenting for stenosis and intracranial venous hypertension
  15. Acute intracranial dural venous sinus thrombosis treatment
  16. Neck and chest venous angioplasty and stenting for multiple sclerosis
  17. Direct percutaneous embolization for cranio facial vascular malformations and tumors
  18. Vertebroplasty
  19. Kyphoplasty
  20. Cisternography
  21. Myelography
  22. Discography
  23. Spinal biopsy
  24. Vertebral hemangioma embolization
  25. Neck and back pain relief procedures: facetal block, nerve block, epidural injections, foraminal block, RFA ablation, ozone therapy etc.
Diseases typically dealt by neurointerventionists:
  • Brain hemorrhage
  • Stroke ('Brain attack'/paralysis)
  1.  Acute stroke
  2.  Recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attacks
  • Arterial dissection
  • Vascular malformations of brain and spine ( AVM and Dural AVF)
  • Cranio-facial vascular malformations
  • Venous sinus thrombosis, occlusion or stenosis
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Brain and spinal tumors
  • Back and neck pain




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