📖 What is embolization?
Embolization is a minimally invasive technique in which a radiologist introduces materials into blood vessels to deliberately block them. Under fluoroscopic guidance, a catheter is advanced through the arterial or venous system to the target vessel, and embolic agents are injected to occlude it — stopping blood supply to a tumour, controlling haemorrhage, or treating vascular abnormalities.
Embolization avoids open surgery, is performed under local anaesthesia, and is usually a day procedure. It is one of the most widely used techniques in modern interventional radiology.
🔧 Embolic agents
🔩 Coils
Metallic micro-coils deployed in the target vessel to cause thrombosis. Used for varicocele, haemorrhage, aneurysm, pre-operative tumour embolization.
🔵 Calibrated microspheres
Spherical particles of defined size (100–900 µm) that block small arterial branches. Used in uterine fibroid embolization, prostate artery embolization, TACE.
💊 Drug-eluting beads (DEB)
Microspheres loaded with chemotherapy (doxorubicin). Used in DEB-TACE for hepatocellular carcinoma — combine embolization with local drug delivery.
🧪 Liquid agents (Onyx, glue)
Cyanoacrylate glue or Onyx for high-flow lesions, AVMs, and pelvic varicosities. Provides permanent, precise occlusion.
🎯 Applications
- Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) — heavy periods, fibroids
- Prostate artery embolization (PAE) — enlarged prostate, urinary symptoms
- Varicocele embolization — scrotal pain, male infertility
- Pelvic congestion syndrome — chronic pelvic pain in women
- TACE (transarterial chemoembolization) — liver cancer
- Haemorrhage control — post-partum, trauma, GI bleeding
- Pre-operative tumour embolization — reduce intra-operative blood loss
- Knee, shoulder, ankle — musculoskeletal embolization for chronic pain