Interventional Neuroradiology

Your dedicated partner in patient care

Using advanced imaging technology, Interventional Neuroradiology (INR) can diagnose and treat many common and rare medical disorders. These procedures are generally both less costly and less traumatic for patients.

Often, more invasive surgery can be avoided, and INR can even treat some disorders for which there exists no surgical alternative. Most patients are able to leave the hospital a day after their procedure.

The right facility, the right team

Partnered with the U of L School of Medicine, University Hospital’s INR team offers referring hospitals and physicians one of the area’s finest facilities, with the advantages of:

  • A lead physician (Edgard Pereira, M.D.) with more than 20 years experience in the field
  • A diverse group of highly trained INR specialists
  • A state-of-the-art, dedicated neurointerventional suite at University Hospital
  • A motivated team of nurses specifically dedicated to the interventional neuroradiology program and patients.

Ready to assist with a variety of procedures and conditions

University Hospital’s INR unit has extensive expertise and knowledge of advanced neurointerventional techniques and procedures, including:

  • Angioplasty of brachiocephalic and intracranial arteries - Balloon catheters can be threaded up to a narrowed neck or brain artery, inflated and a stent placed, improving the blood flow and decreasing the chance of a stroke.
  • Embolization of tumors - In hypervascular tumors of the head, neck and spine, a tiny catheter can be threaded up to the arteries supplying the lesion and different material injected to block off their blood supply. Likewise, in certain types of cancers, a high dose of chemotherapy can be given through this catheter directly to the tumor to improve the chance of cure.
  • Emergency stroke therapy - Blockage of a brain artery by a clot is a common cause of stroke that requires prompt treatment. A catheter can be placed into the blocked artery and a clot-busting drug injected to restore the circulation.
  • Embolization of intracranial aneurysms - Brain aneurysm may lead to intracranial bleeding and death. Packing the aneurysm tightly with special coils to close off its blood flow can prevent it from rupturing.
  • Embolization of vascular lesions - Brain and spinal arteriovenous malformation and dural arteriovenous fistulas can be closed with “glue” as part of a presurgical treatment or to cure the lesion.
  • Vertebroplasty - This involves injecting medical cement into a painful spine fracture to permanently stabilize it, thereby improving or relieving back pain.

Ready to work with you

The range of experience within the University Hospital INR team allows effective communication with many clinical disciplines.

We can directly admit patients to our service, and provide comprehensive follow-up as needed.

With some of the finest facilities in the area and a team of experienced interventional neuroradiologists and nurses, University Hospital should be your referral site of choice for complex procedures and minimally invasive therapy. Should you want to give your patients the benefit of an area leader in INR, or want more information or consultation with our specialists, contact:

Department of Radiology
Neurointerventional Services
502-562-3187 / 502-852-5875 - office
Key Terms

Aneurysm: An abnormal bulging outward of an artery wall.

Brain Aneurysm: A weak bulging spot on the wall of the one of the arteries in the brain - also called an intracranial or cerebral aneurysm.

Catheter: A hollow flexible tube for insertion into a body cavity, duct, or vessel to allow the passage of fluids or distend a passageway. Used in the endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms.

Cerebral Aneurysm: A weak bulging spot on the wall of the brain artery - also called a brain or intracranial aneurysm.

Craniotomy: Surgical procedure where a section of the skull cap is temporarily removed during surgery.

Detachable Platinum Coils: Small platinum coils used to occlude (fill) cerebral aneurysms. The coils are attached to a delivery wire and are fed through a microcatheter into the aneurysm. Once properly positioned within the cerebral aneurysm, the coil is detached from the delivery wire via electrolytic detachment.

Endovascular: Within the vascular system.

Endovascular embolization: A technique, also referred to as coiling, that seals off the cerebral aneurysm and stops further blood from entering into the aneurysm. This method uses the natural access to the brain through the bloodstream via arteries to diagnosis and treat cerebral aneurysms.

Guide Catheters: In the endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms, these flexible tubes are introduced into the patient's carotid artery (the principal artery in the neck). Once positioned in the carotid artery, the guide catheter functions as a working channel through which smaller devices, like microcatheters, may be introduced into the brain.

Guidewire: A thin, usually flexible wire that can be inserted into a confined or tortuous space to act as a guide to facilitate passage of instrumentation, such as a catheter. Used in the endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms.

Hemorrhagic Stroke: A stroke caused by a ruptured blood vessel and characterized by bleeding within or surrounding the brain. Subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm can lead to a hemorrhagic stroke.

Minimally-Invasive Medical Technologies: Alternatives to traditional surgery and other medical procedures that reduce risk, trauma, cost, procedure time and the need for aftercare. Can be used to treat cerebral aneurysms.

Microcatheter: A very small catheter used to deliver diagnostic and therapeutic agents such as embolic devices used in the endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms. Over-the-wire microcatheters are fed along a guidewire to the area of the body for treatment. Flow-directed microcatheters utilize the bloodflow within the vessel to direct the microcatheter through the vascular system.

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH): When a cerebral aneurysm ruptures, it causes bleeding into the compartment surrounding the brain, causing a subarachnoid hemmorhage. Subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm can lead to a hemorrhagic stroke, brain damage and death.