ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Interventional radiology

Interventional radiology is when doctors use very special tools to see inside your body and fix things that might be wrong. Think of it like having a super cool camera that can take pictures of your insides and help doctors figure out what's going on in there.

So, how does it work? First, the doctor will make a tiny incision in your skin and use a special tool to guide a thin tube (called a catheter) through your blood vessels to get to where he or she needs to work. This could be in your lungs, heart, liver, or even your brain!

Once the catheter is in the right spot, the doctor will use various tools to fix whatever needs fixing. For example, if you have a blockage in your blood vessels, the doctor might use a tiny balloon to stretch it open, or use a stent (a small tube made of metal or plastic) to keep the blood vessel open.

The neat thing about interventional radiology is that the doctors can do all of this without making big incisions or cutting you open like they would in a traditional surgery. It's much less painful for you and you can usually go home much sooner.

So there you have it, interventional radiology is all about using special tools to look inside your body and fix problems without having to do traditional surgery. Pretty cool, huh?