Interventional Radiology (IR)

For you, the benefits of this type of care when compared to surgery include:

• Less pain
• Reduced risk of complications, such as infection
• Shorter recovery times
• Smaller incisions

At New England Baptist Hospital, you also benefit from the skill and expertise of the team providing your care. Your care team includes highly trained interventional radiologists, nurses and technologists. Working with other specialists throughout the hospital, we help you get the expert care you need, right here close to home.

The interventional team at New England Baptist Hospital is among the leaders in spine and joint pain relief throughout the Northeast, performing thousands of procedures each year.

X-Ray-Guided Procedures

We offer a wide array of both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. We perform most procedures under fluoroscopic (X-ray) guidance, including:

• Arthrogram. This test can help specialists diagnose joint problems.
• Epidural injection. This is an injection into the space around your spinal nerves.
• Great trochanter bursa injection. This injection treats pain in the buttocks, hips or upper legs.
• Intra-articular hip injection. Radiologists use this injection to treat hip and groin pain.
• Myelogram. This specialized imaging uses contrast dye with X-ray or CT scan.
• Rhizotomy. This treatment works to reduce your pain by destroying certain nerves in the spine that send pain signals to the brain.

Injection Block Procedures 

We also offer injection blocks, such as:

• Facet block. This is a medication injected into the spine.
• Medial branch block. This medication injection in the spinal nerves controls part of the neck, middle back and lower back.
• Nerve root block. This is an injection to the nerve root where it exits the spinal column.
• Sacroiliac (SI) joint block. This injection treats sciatica or lower back pain.
• Trigger point injection. This targeted injection helps reduce pain in a specific muscle or muscles.

Platelet-rich plasma is blood plasma with concentrated platelets. During this treatment, your interventional radiologist injects the PRP directly into the site of your injury. The concentrated platelets in PRP contain growth factors that are vital to initiate and accelerate tissue repair and regeneration. These proteins:

• Initiate connective tissue healing and repair.
• Promote the development of new blood vessels.
• Stimulate the healing process.

Please note that a PRP procedure is self-pay only and not covered by insurance. The fee is due on the day of service. Contact the department for current pricing.

PRP Injection Appointments

When you arrive, please check in at Patient Access to register and make your payment.

Please note:

• No corticosteroids for two weeks before the procedure.
• Discontinue non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and aspirin one week (seven days) before your procedure.
• Do not take anti-coagulation (blood thinners) for five days before the procedure.
• Increase your fluid intake in the 24 hours before your procedure.
• You must arrange for a ride home from the hospital.

If you have any questions prior to your appointment, please call the radiology department at 617-754-5287 and choose option 3. You will be prompted to leave a voicemail, and a team member will answer all your questions.

We also perform a variety of procedures under ultrasound guidance, such as:

• Foreign body localization. In this procedure, your specialist determines the location of a foreign object that has entered the body, such as wood, glass, plastic or metal. We can remove the object during the procedure.
• Knee popliteal cyst aspiration. During this procedure, your radiologist drains fluid from a cyst behind your knee.
• Shoulder paralabral cyst aspiration. Your specialist drains fluid from a cyst in your shoulder.