Intervention

Imaging technology allows complex yet minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in the genitourinary tract. It provides precise targeting for tissue biopsy to allow accurate diagnosis. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is invaluable in the treatment of complex stone disease and percutaneous nephrostomy insertion preserves normal renal tissue in the patient with malignant or benign urinary tract obstruction. (Percutaneous nephrolithotomy and percutaneous nephrostomy are very different.) Antegrade ureteric procedures allow strictures, stones, and tumours to be dealt with, often with much greater ease than the retrograde approach. Collections and leaks can be drained and urine can be diverted to facilitate healing. Minimally invasive endovascular techniques can arrest iatrogenic or trauma-related haemorrhage from the renal tract. Although interventional radiological procedures are generally safe, they do come with risks of specific complications that the nephrologist needs to be aware of. Nephrologists need to be familiar with interventional uroradiological techniques to allow appropriate counseling and care of patients who require these procedures.