What is Catheter Embolization?
Embolization, a fairly new treatment method, is a way of occluding (closing)—or at least drastically reducing—blood flow to one or more blood vessels that are doing more harm than good. One of a variety of materials, depending on whether vessel occlusion is to be temporary or permanent, is passed through a catheter, its tip lying in or near the vessel to be closed. This approach can be used to control or prevent abnormal bleeding as well as to shut down the vessels that support a growing tumor. Therapeutic embolization may also serve to eliminate an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an abnormal communication between an artery and a vein. The term "embolization" derives from embolus, which can be any object that circulates in the bloodstream until it lodges in a blood vessel—in this case, a synthetic material or medication specially designed to occlude the blood vessels.

What are some common uses of the procedure?
Catheter embolization may be used as the sole treatment, or may be combined with another method such as surgery or radiation. In some cases it is an emergency means of controlling bleeding until it is possible to deliver the final treatment.

• The most common use of catheter embolization is to control bleeding from injury, a tumor, a stomach ulcer or some other cause on an emergency basis. Controlling bleeding into the abdomen or pelvis from injuries caused in an auto collision is especially suitable for this approach.
• Occluding the blood vessels that feed a tumor can help control symptoms when the tumor cannot be removed or might be difficult and risky to remove, such as liver cancer. All tumors need a rich supply of blood to continue growing. After embolization a tumor may shrink, or it may continue to grow but more slowly than before. It now is possible to
  combine the embolic material with chemotherapy.
• Fibroid tumors of the uterus, though not malignant (cancerous), may cause long-lasting menstrual periods or heavy menstrual bleeding. They also may produce pain in the pelvic area, the back or the legs, as well as pressure on the bladder or bowel. Embolization may prove to be an alternative to the standard treatment: surgical removal. Because
  fibroids have a large blood supply they will tend to shrink or even disappear if this blood supply is interrupted. Multiple fibroids can be treated in the same session. (See the Uterine Fibroid Embolization page on the RadiologyInfo.org Web site for a detailed description.)
• Embolization is used increasingly often – again as an alternative to surgery – for treating arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Although these lesions may occur anywhere in the body, those in the brain or spinal cord often are treated by embolization because of potentially severe complications of surgical treatment. When an artery and vein are
  connected it has the effect of a “short circuit” that prevents blood from going to where it is needed; instead it is pumped through the connection (shunt) and back to the heart. An AVM is a rare abnormality that may cause pain and loss of function; embolization may control these symptoms. It also has been used to plug the artery supplying an aneurysm (ballooning out of the artery wall) within
  the brain if, as is often the case, it is difficult to reach surgically.
• Hemangiomas are highly vascular tumors often found on the face, where they may deform and discolor the skin. Embolization is a sensible alternative to surgical removal, which may leave an unsightly scar.