Renal artery embolization

Renal artery embolization (RAE) is an effective minimally invasive alternative procedure for the treatment of a variety of conditions. Since the 1970s when RAE was first developed, technical advances and growing experience have expanded the indications to not only include treatment of conditions such as symptomatic hematuria and palliation for metastatic renal cancer, but also preoperative infarction of renal tumors, treatment of angiomyolipomas, vascular malformations, medical renal disease, and complications following renal transplantation. With the drastically improved morbidity associated with this technique in part due to the introduction of more precise embolic agents and smaller delivery catheters, RAE continues to gain popularity for various urologic conditions. The indications and techniques for renal artery embolization are reviewed in the following sections.