Pediatric Interventional Radiology

The pediatric interventional radiology division at Lurie Children’s performs a full range of therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. Interventional radiologists use imaging guidance to perform minimally invasive procedures, which may result in less pain and allow for quicker recovery times for our patients.

Lurie Children’s interventional radiology has three state-of-the-art procedure suites, and our team performs more than 4,000 minimally invasive, image-guided procedures annually. Your child will be treated by sub-specialty trained pediatric interventional radiologists specialized in treating infants and children of all ages.

Procedures We Perform

Abscess drainage
Aneurysm coiling
Aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) sclerosis or ablation
Angioplasty
Arteriogram
Arteriovenous malformation embolization
Arthrogram
Biliary intervention
Biopsy
Botox injections
Chest Port placement
Chest tube placement
Cholecystostomy
Cryoablation
Dialysis catheter placement
Dialysis Fistula or Graft intervention
Embolization
Epidural blood patch
Esophageal dilation
Gastrojejunostomy (GJ) placement
Joint injections
Lumbar puncture
Lymphangiogram and thoracic duct embolization
Lymphatic malformation sclerotherapy
Microwave ablation
Nephrostomy placement
Osteoid Osteoma ablation
Paracentesis
Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) placement
Spine tumor ablation and embolization
Thoracentesis
Thrombectomy and thrombolysis
TIPS (Tranjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt)
Transjugular liver biopsy
Unicameral bone cyst (UBC) sclerosis and bone grafting
Varicose vein ablation
Venous malformation sclerotherapy

Our Interventional Radiology Team

The interventional radiology team at Lurie Children's is made up of doctors, advanced practice providers, nurses and technologists, all sub-specialized in pediatric interventional radiology.

Pediatric Interventional Radiologists

Shankar Rajeswaran, MD

Division Head, Interventional Radiology; Attending Physician
Associate Professor of Radiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Joe B. Baker, MD

Attending Physician, Medical Imaging (Interventional Radiology)
Assistant Professor of Radiology (Pediatric Radiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Joseph R. Ness, DO

Attending Physician, Medical Imaging (Interventional Radiology)
Assistant Professor of Radiology (Pediatric Radiology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Darshan E. Variyam, MD

Attending Physician, Medical Imaging (Interventional Radiology)
Assistant Professor of Radiology, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine

Pediatric Neurointerventional Radiologists

Donald R. Cantrell, MD, PhD

Attending Physician, Medical Imaging (Interventional Radiology)
Assistant Professor of Radiology (Neurointerventional Radiology) and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Ali Shaibani, MD, MBA

Chief of Neurointerventional Radiology in the Department of Radiology and Professor of Radiology and Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Ramez N. Abdalla, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Radiology (Interventional Neuroradiology) Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Sameer Ansari, MD, PhD

Professor of Radiology, Neurological Surgery and Neurology - Ken and Ruth Davee Department, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Advanced Practice Providers

Jannell Bichl, APRN-NP

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Medical Imaging (Interventional Radiology)

Julie Chesterton, APRN-NP

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Medical Imaging (Interventional Radiology)

Nursing

Our registered nurses all have a bachelor’s degree and come with past nursing experience in caring for critically ill patients. Our nurses hold national certifications in advanced adult and pediatric life support and have a passion for working with children.

Technologists

Our radiologic technologists are board certified by ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologist) and are also required to have an advanced certification. Technologists are responsible for operating the imaging equipment, and helping with the positioning and care of the patient.