Risks and Complications
As with any medical procedure involving catheter insertion and foreign bodies, vascular embolization does carry some risks. However, with refined techniques and equipment, major complications are quite low at 2-5%. Some minor risks include post-embolization syndrome of pain, fever or nausea that resolves within a week. Risk of infection at access site is under 1%.

Rare but serious risks involve unintentional non-target embolization, blood vessel injury, allergic reaction and contrast-induced kidney injury. Failure to achieve technical success or early re-bleeding may also occur in under 5% cases. Due to these risks, patients require medical clearance and careful pre-procedure evaluation to maximize safety and benefits. Antibiotics, adequate hydration and close monitoring help minimize serious adverse events. On balance, embolization continues to offer a safe treatment means across a spectrum of conditions.

Vascular embolization has revolutionized the management of several conditions that earlier necessitated major open surgeries. As a minimally invasive image-guided option, it provides comparable or even better success than surgeries with significantly lower morbidity. Applications continue to expand as more widespread use and technological advances refine safety and outcomes. For appropriately selected patients presenting with treatable conditions, embolization offers an indispensable tool in the armamentarium of interventional therapies.

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