Summary: Renowned Journalist Credits Interventional Radiology Team for Saving His Life
Summary: Renowned Journalist Credits Interventional Radiology Team for Saving His Life
Source: Health Imaging
Author: Hannah Murphy
Date: April 2, 2025
Key Points:
1. Sebastian Junger’s Medical Crisis:
• In summer 2020, journalist and author Sebastian Junger suffered sudden, severe abdominal pain while at his cabin in New England.
• Symptoms included near loss of consciousness and temporary vision loss.
2. Emergency Response:
• Initially reluctant, Junger agreed to be taken by ambulance.
• His condition deteriorated en route; he was bleeding internally from a ruptured pancreatic artery aneurysm.
3. Life-Saving IR Intervention:
• Dr. Philip J. Dombrowski, an interventional radiologist, diagnosed the hemorrhage via abdominal CTA.
• Junger underwent endovascular embolization, not surgery, due to his unstable condition.
• After failed initial attempts, Dombrowski tried a left radial artery approach—an unconventional move that ultimately stopped the bleeding and saved Junger’s life.
4. Near-Death Experience:
• Junger had vivid visions and credited a nurse’s calm interaction with keeping him grounded and awake during the procedure.
5. Public Recognition of IR:
• Junger publicly thanked the interventional radiology team, emphasizing the life-saving role of IR.
• He noted that search results misattributed his survival to surgery, highlighting the need for greater awareness of IR capabilities.
• “If people knew they could avoid surgery with IR, it would blow their minds,” he said.
6. Broader Message:
• Junger hopes his story will raise awareness of the critical role of IR and encourage broader recognition of its minimally invasive, life-saving potential.