🩸 Interventional vascular radiology
Our department performs the full range of interventional vascular radiology procedures, from the lower limbs to the visceral vessels, as a day case or with a short hospital stay.
🦵 Peripheral arterial disease of the lower limbs (PAD)
PAD is a common disease caused by atherosclerosis of the lower-limb arteries. It causes pain on walking (intermittent claudication) through to critical ischaemia with rest pain and a risk of amputation.
🔴 Percutaneous angioplasty (PTA)
Balloon dilation of narrowed or blocked lower-limb arteries. Indicated for iliac, superficial femoral, popliteal and below-the-knee (leg artery) lesions.
🔵 Arterial stenting
Placement of a stent to keep the artery open after angioplasty. Covered stents for the femoral arteries, drug-eluting stents to reduce the risk of restenosis.
🟢 Thrombolysis and thrombectomy
Dissolution with thrombolytics (urokinase, rtPA) or mechanical aspiration of arterial clots in acute ischaemia. A limb-salvage technique used in emergencies.
🟠 Drug-coated balloon (DCB)
Paclitaxel-coated balloons for angioplasty of long superficial femoral arteries. Significantly reduces the 1-year restenosis rate compared with a standard balloon.
📊 Indications by stage:
• Stage II (disabling claudication): after failure of vascular rehabilitation
• Stage III/IV (critical ischaemia, rest pain, tissue loss): as an emergency, as an alternative to or in addition to vascular surgery
🫘 Renal artery stenosis and occlusion
Renal artery stenosis can cause renovascular hypertension resistant to medical treatment and ischaemic nephropathy with progressive decline in kidney function.
🔮 Renal artery angioplasty
Percutaneous balloon dilation of a renal artery stenosis. Indicated for a haemodynamically significant atheromatous stenosis with renovascular hypertension, or for fibromuscular ostial stenosis.
🔵 Renal stenting
Placement of a stent in the renal artery for atheromatous ostial stenoses (more durable than angioplasty alone). Combined with optimised medical treatment.
ℹ️ Indication for renal revascularisation: the decision is made jointly with the nephrologist and vascular cardiologist. It is reserved for renovascular hypertension resistant to optimal medical treatment and for documented ischaemic nephropathy.
🩸 Other vascular procedures
- Venous recanalisation (iliac/caval venous stenting) for post-thrombotic syndrome — see dedicated page
- Pelvic vein embolisation — see dedicated page
- Central venous access (PICC line, Port-a-Cath) — see dedicated page
- Emergency haemorrhage embolisation (post-partum, digestive, bronchial, renal)
- Vena cava filters — prevention of pulmonary embolism
- Interventional lymphography — treatment of chylothorax and chylomas
🤝 Multidisciplinary care
All our vascular procedures are performed in conjunction with the vascular cardiology, vascular surgery, nephrology and internal medicine teams at Cochin Hospital.
🚨 Vascular emergencies: acute limb ischaemia, arterial emboli, haemorrhage — contact the interventional radiology suite directly via the Cochin Hospital switchboard · 01 58 41 41 41
✅ Covered by French National Health Insurance · No additional fees · Cochin University Hospital AP-HP