Interventional radiology procedures

Transcript for: What you can expect during your IR exam

Hi, I’m Dr. Darren Knibutat, and I’m an interventional radiologist at Grand River Hospital.

Interventional radiology, or I-R, is a little different from most medical imaging tests. So I’d like to tell you what you can expect.

When you first come to the GRH’s KW Site, we’ll welcome you at our patient registration atrium. It’s on the second floor.

After you’ve registered, we’ll then bring you to medical imaging for your test.

Once your exam is done, we’ll bring you to day surgery so we can make sure your recovery is going well.

We work hard to stay on time. But emergencies cases do happen. So please bear with us if there’s a delay.

The IR suite has a few key features that I’d like to show you. There's large medical imaging equipment and big screens so we can conduct your procedure.

Instead of typical operating room instruments, we use small tubes called catheters to perform procedures. This is less invasive, and better for a patient’s recovery

You’ll have three health professionals in the room with you: an interventional radiologist, a medical radiation technologist, and a registered nurse.

Whenever you have any questions or concerns, please tell us. We're here to help you.

Although there can be surgery involved, we don’t use general anesthetic that puts you to sleep.

We’ll typically give you medications or local freezing so you won’t feel pain. You’ll benefit from fewer complications and a faster recovery.

Because of these medications, you cannot drive yourself home. Please make sure you have a relative or friend help you and drive you home on the day of your procedure. This is for your own safety.

Interventional radiology is a safe and an effective way to have a number of medical procedures. We work hard to provide exceptional care and hope you will have a positive experience with us.