Interventional Radiology Patient Stories

Firsthand accounts by patients of Massachusetts General Hospital Imaging underscore our commitment to compassionate care.

• Treatment for Liver Disease: Carol's Story - Carol Poladian was diagnosed with liver disease in 2017. When it lead to cancer, she turned to a minimally invasive treatment called transjugular portosystemic shunt, also known as TIPS. Hear about her experience with the care team at Mass General Interventional Radiology.
• Cancer Survivor Finds Relief from Painful Fractures - Soon after Bobbie DiBattista was treated for endometrial cancer, she began to feel excruciating lower back pain. Learn how she found relief through minimally invasive, image-guided procedures to repair the fractures causing her pain.
• NeuroInterventional Spine Program treats two generations - John Higgins was amazed when he met the neurointerventional radiologist who treated him for a painful fracture of the sacrum. It was the same doctor who had treated his mother five years earlier.
• Blind patient thrives after a ruptured aneurysm - A blind patient who thrived after a minimally invasive treatment to repair a ruptured aneurysm and preserve her eyesight.
• Cancer survivor finds relief after months of debilitating pain - Albert Arrolata thought things couldn't get much worse after he was diagnosed with kidney cancer. But once it was treated, the real pain began.
• Arteriovenous malformation triggers a patient's near-fatal hemorrhage - Software engineer Lori Corbani was never sick. Yet one day, she was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital after suffering a near-fatal brain hemorrhage triggered by a congenital condition.
• A family faces their high risk of aneurysm together - After Sharon Shea was stricken with an aneurysm, she had life-saving, emergency surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. During her recovery, her family history emerged and helped get treatment for her son.
• A stroke patient's family is faced with difficult decisions at a critical time - After Barbara Collard suffered a massive stroke, she missed the window of opportunity to benefit from clot-dissolving drugs. When she arrived by helicopter at Massachusetts General Hospital, her family had to make decisions quickly.
• A Mass General patient with fibroids talks about why she chose the procedure that changed her life - A patient whose life was regularly disrupted by a painful and common gynecological condition, Delva Campbell decided to take action.