"Beyond saving lives": Current perspectives of interventional radiology in trauma

Interventional radiology (IR) has become an integral part in the management of traumatic injuries. There is an ever-increasing role of IR in traumatic injuries of solid abdominal organs, pelvic and peripheral arteries to control active bleeding by therapeutic embolization or vascular reconstruction using stent grafts. Traditionally, these endovascular treatments have been offered to hemodynamically stable patients. However, in recent times endovascular approach has become preferable to surgery even in hemodynamically unstable patients with injury of surgically difficult-to-access sites. With shifting trends towards non operative management coupled with availability of the current state-of-the-art equipments, hardware and technical expertise, IR has gained an impeccable role in trauma management. However, due to lack of awareness and widespread acceptance, IR continues to remain an ocean of unexplored potentialities.