All IR procedures require an admission to hospital. This can either be to the Day Intervention Unit or to a hospital ward. The procedures are usually carried out on a day case basis where you are admitted on the morning of the procedure and discharged later in the day. Occasionally, depending on your medical history and/or the type of procedure you undergo, an overnight stay in hospital may be required.

Interventional Radiology is located within the Day Intervention Unit at the Victoria Hospital.

Opening Times – 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday

List Days – There are normally 3 lists per week. The days vary week to week as they are dependent on Interventional Radiologist availability at Ninewells Hospital. The service may have reduced numbers of lists during e.g. peak holiday times due to reduced numbers of Interventional Radiologists.

Out of Hours (OOH)  There is no Interventional OOH service available in Fife. Should a patient require an Interventional Radiology procedure OOH, Clinicians must contact the IR Consultant on call at Ninewells to discuss the case and arrange for patient transfer to NWH as appropriate. There is an OOH IR Transfer Protocol in place which provides details of the procedure to follow.

Prior to any admission for aninterventional procedure, the consultant in overall charge of your care for example, the vascular surgeon or urology surgeon will advise you on why they feel this is an appropriate treatment for your particular problem. They may also give you information leaflets on the procedure and then arrange a referral to IR where your appointment will be arranged. Your Consultant’s secretary will organise your admission to hospital.

You will require some blood tests to be carried out prior to your admission, and you may also be asked to withhold or stop certain medications such as blood thinning medication.

You do not usually need to stop eating or drinking prior to admission as your procedure is carried out under local anaesthetic. You will be given a theatre gown to wear for the procedure and will usually need to have a small needle or cannula sited into a vein in your arm. This is in case you require any intravenous medication during the procedure.

The IR room looks like an operating theatre, as all the procedures are conducted under strict sterile conditions to prevent infections. Procedures are carried out by a highly trained team comprising of Radiologists (Specialist imaging doctors), Radiographers and Radiology Nurses, using state of the art, high tech imaging equipment.

The radiologist will explain the procedure, outline any associated risks and ask you to sign a consent form, before you enter the radiology room. Before and during the procedure your heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels are monitored. Images taken during the procedure are also recorded and stored. The Radiographers and Radiology Nurses will explain how the x-ray equipment will move around you and what to expect with the monitoring equipment.

Following the procedure, you will have to undergo a period of bed rest: this is usually between 2-4 hours and depends on the type of procedure carried out. The Radiologist will make a written report of the procedure and this report along with the images will be sent to your referring Consultant. The recorded images will also be available for your Consultant.

The types of procedures performed fall broadly into 2 categories – Vascular Intervention and Non-Vascular Intervention.

In Fife, the Vascular procedures include

  • Peripheral angioplasties and stent insertion
  • Insertion of venous access catheters
  • Embolisations

Non vascular procedures include

  • Nephrostomy
  • Ureteric (Antegrade) Stents
  • Drainage catheter insertions
  • Gastrostomy / Jejunostomy Placements
  • Gastro-Intestinal Stenting (Duodenal, Colonic, Biliary, Oesophageal)