Present issue of „Postępy Nauk Medycznych” is published in conjunction with the 40 years anniversary of establishment by Professor Marian Klamut of an Interventional Radiology Department at the University Medical School in Lublin, as an independent unit, the first in Poland and the first in Europe. The Department invented and implemented numerous new methods of endovascular and percutaneous treatment and for many luminous and motivated doctors have been a source of inspiration and a site for highest-level education. The Department has become an interventional radiology referral center and an active research unit.

All papers included in this issue are related to the interventional radiology, which is a unique branch of radiology employing minimally invasive methods to treat a wide range of diseases, among which are vascular, neoplastic and post traumatic diseases that are considered to be the three main causes of death.

Interventional radiology is one of the fastest developing disciplines in clinical medicine. It’s growth is determined by progress in diagnostic imaging techniques and advancements in minimally invasive equipment used in percutaneus procedures.

Among different intravascular interventional radiology procedures embolisation and angioplasty play a leading role. These procedures allow closing or reopening of the vessels. Embolisation is used to arrest troublesome bleedings and to treat vascular malformations like aneurysms, arterio-venous malformations and fistulas. It may offer definite or complementary treatment of neoplasms. Six papers in this issue are dedicated to this topic presenting available techniques and current indications.

Another group of articles is dedicated to angioplasty, which with the use of stents, has become one of the most frequently performed procedures in interventional radiology. Angioplasty and stenting are used to treat vascular stenoses and occlusions of various ethiology. Stenting of the anuerysms, including aneurysms of abdominal and thoracic aorta has greatly changed the practice in the management of those diseases.

Papers presented in this issue illustrate a very large range of methods, which are offered by interventional radiology in numerous indications and in different diseases, which were previously treated by other medical specialities. The majority of these methods offer, often an attractive alternative to surgical treatment.

A great advantage of interventional radiology methods is their minimal invasiveness, high effectiveness and low percentage of complications. In most cases the treatment does not require general anaesthesia, blood transfusion or blood substitutes, furthermore hospitalization and recovery time are much shorter compared to surgical treatment.