How has UFE changed the role of interventional radiologists where they practice?
Lipman: In the hospitals years ago, no one knew us. Today, that’s not the case. In addition to treating fibroids, there are a number of procedures we perform that replace the need for surgery. The patients are happy, the risk is less, and the hospitalization time is significantly less or nonexistent in the case of outpatient procedures. Hospital administrators like this. They like patients who are happy about the care they receive. We are definitely now on their radar, particularly in this cost-containment environment. More things today are being measured on an outcomes-based scale. When it comes to reducing costs, IR can play a role. Doing things less invasively and safer hopefully costs less—certainly much less when you consider the patient’s time away from work with some of these models. With UFE, the patient may be out of work for one week vs. eight weeks with surgery. The cost savings is tremendous, the patients are very happy and, therefore, the hospital administrators are happy.
