Ask the Health Experts: Diagnostic Imaging
Q: How is a CT scan different from a normal X-ray? Is it safe?
A: A computed tomography (CT) scan sends X-ray beams through your body as you lie on a special table. The result is a cross-sectional picture that looks like slices of the inside of your body. Unlike a standard two-dimensional X-ray, the multidimensional CT scan can show bones and organs in detail. Some conditions CT scans can find — internal injuries or bleeding, muscle and bone problems, and more — might have required exploratory surgery in the past.
And yes, a CT scan is safe. CT scanners use more radiation than conventional X-ray machines, but radiation from CT scans poses a small risk for cancer. The threat from a CT scan is far lower than the risk posed by many problems CT scans help detect.
If your doctor orders a CT scan for you, ask him or her how it will help you. Don’t refuse a CT scan or X-ray if the doctor can explain why it’s medically needed. The risk of skipping a test you need is greater than the risk from radiation.
Q: My doctor referred me to an interventional radiologist for treatment of my uterine fibroids. What exactly is an interventional radiologist?
A: An interventional radiologist is a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating medical problems using minimally invasive image-guided techniques. These physicians can treat many conditions, from uterine fibroids, like yours, to blocked blood vessels, in minimally invasive ways.
Here’s how it works: An interventional radiologist uses fluoroscopy to guide a tiny catheter from a small opening in the skin through the arteries to the source of the problem. Working with miniscule instruments through the catheter, the interventional radiologist can treat the problem from the inside without open surgery. This is usually a same-day procedure.
For uterine fibroids like yours, the interventional radiologist can perform a test to see if you’re a candidate for uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), a catheter-based procedure commonly used to
treat fibroids. The interventional radiologist injects tiny plastic beads through the catheter and into the arteries that feed the fibroids. These particles cut off blood supply to the fibroids, causing their painful symptoms and bleeding to significantly diminish.
Meet the Doctors
Patrick J. O'Connor, D.O.
Board certified in Radiology
Brick | 732-836-4046
Pranav N. Shah, M.D.
Board certified in Vascular & Interventional Radiology & Radiology
Red Bank | 732-747-1429
