UFE Highly Effective in Cases Where Focused Ultrasound to Treat Uterine Fibroids Failed

Newswise — Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment for uterine fibroids, provides significant relief of symptoms for women whose focused ultrasound (FUS) treatment failed, according to a study released today during the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, D.C. Primary care physicians and gynecologists can feel confident in informing patients that a failed FUS treatment does not require subsequent gynecological surgery. Those women can be successfully treated with UFE. Patients with a single large fibroid are candidates for FUS; patients with many fibroids, which is more often the case, would be better treated with UFE. There is limited long-term follow-up data for FUS and limited information on fibroid recurrence rates. In this retrospective study from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, seven post-FUS patients who experienced therapeutic failure and were subsequently re-treated with UFE were reviewed. In all patients, their symptoms—such as heavy menstrual bleeding and the sensation of fullness or pressure in the lower abdomen—improved

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