About the Interventional Radiology

When your child comes to Interventional Radiology (IR) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, she will be treated by a specially trained pediatric interventional radiologist in a facility designed to provide specialized care for children. We provide a full range of therapeutic and diagnostic procedures.

We perform these minimally invasive procedures using imaging tools, reducing the need for open surgery. Your interventional radiologist will work closely with your child’s physician and has the support of a team of dedicated and highly trained staff, including registered nurses, radiologic technologists, physician assistants, core technicians, nurse practitioners, clinical coordinators and sedation physicians.

We have three IR suites at the Main Campus, each with state-of-the-art imaging equipment.

Procedures we offer

Interventional Radiology at CHOP offers the following procedures. To learn more about a specific procedure, click the appropriate link.

Because of the wide variety of procedures we perform, we’re unable to include instructions for each one here. If you have questions about your child’s procedure, please call the Interventional Radiology Nurse scheduler at the number listed on this page.

IR scheduling and arrival

If your physician has told you that your child needs to have an Interventional Radiology procedure, please call the IR nurse scheduler at the number listed on this page (press #1 at the first prompt, press #2 at the second prompt).

The nurse scheduler will ask questions about your child's medical history, including medications and whether your child has had reactions to sedation or anesthesia in the past.

Your doctor or an IR nurse will give you special instructions, if any. In most cases, your child will not be able to eat or drink before the procedure, particularly if your child will be sedated or undergo anesthesia.

About two weeks before your child's appointment, we will send you instructions about the procedure. Please keep these instructions in a safe place where you can refer to them before your appointment.

Please let the IR team know if your child has any special needs. Our goal is to make this experience as stress free as possible for you and your child.

What do I do if I am not the child's legal guardian?

Only a child's parent or legal guardian can give permission for a procedure in Interventional Radiology. If you’re not the child’s parent, please bring a copy of the court order that states you are the child's legal guardian and can give permission for medical care. If you do not have this form we will not be able to get consent, therefore we will not be able to perform the procedure. If you are neither the parent or the legal guardian, please let us know when you schedule the procedure so we can begin the process of obtaining consent from the appropriate person or agency.

What should you do when you arrive?

Please arrive 45 minutes before your appointment. Check in to Outpatient Registration, on the third floor of the Main Hospital. It is important that you arrive on time. Otherwise, the procedure may be canceled.

Your referring physician must fax us a copy of a procedure request form stating the type of and reason for the exam, or a prescription for tube changes. An interventional exam is not scheduled without this form or prescription.

We’ll also need proof of insurance and a referral, if required by your insurer.

When the registration process is complete, we will notify Interventional Radiology. A technologist, nurse or core tech will come out to the central registration area and bring you and your child to a room for IV placement or other preparations.

Preparing your child

If you’d like, our child life specialists will help you prepare your child and support him during the procedure. We can also arrange to have a child life specialist at your child's appointment to explain the procedure in developmentally appropriate ways and to help your child better cope with the stress of the hospital experience.

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