Uterine Fibroid Embolization – An Invasive Procedure To Treat Fibroids

By Author: stephaniecutter
Total Articles: 109
Comment this article

Every year, menorrhagia or heavy menstrual bleeding affects millions of women. Endometriosis, hormonal imbalance, adneomyosis, polyps, most commonly uterine fibroids are the leading causes of menorrhagia.

For many years, the standard treatment for uterine fibroids is hysterectomy. Modern technology has generated a method called uterine embolization in order to treat fibroid associated menorrhagia while causing no damage to your urinary tract.

This treatment is performed by a specialized radiologist under local anesthesia. After the treatment, you are kept under observation for pain management. The procedure involves inserting a needle in femoral artery located in the groin.

A little catheter is inserted into the artery and guided to the uterine artery opposite the puncture site. A similar procedure is performed on the region opposite the initial puncture. After the placement of catheters, your radiologist transmits x-rays to verify position of the catheters and observes for irregularities that could complicate the treatment.

Once the position of the catheters is confirmed, tiny polyvinyl alcohol particles ...
... are inserted into the uterine artery. Usually, these particles are minor than sand grains and lodge in vessels that deliver polyps and fibroids with blood. Microspheres or gelfoam can also be used in place of polyvinyl particles.

When the blood supply is obstructed, fibroids will eventually shrink and die thus leaving you free from those dreadful symptoms. Women who had undergone uterine fibroid embolization report 85% of improvement in their symptoms after three months.

Side effects of fibroid embolization

Some women report moderate to severe uterine cramping and pain for first few hours after the procedure. You can use medications for pain control and generally it disappears after few days. Some other side effects of fibroid embolization include nausea and low-grade fever.

Some healthy pregnant women reported post-embolization. But, there is no clear evidence about the effect of embolization on fertility. So, if you want to have children, you should evaluate before considering this type of treatments.

Some other risk factors from embolization include bruising, rupturing of the arteries, termination of menstrual cycle, and passage of uterine fibroid tissues. Usually, these are the rare side effects and they occur in one among five percent of patients and there is one percent risk for post-embolization hysterectomy.

Few women get an infection after the procedure an antibiotic use can control it. 1% women can have injury to the uterus and necessitate the need of hysterectomy.

There is a minimal blood loss with this procedure and also shorter recovery time when compared to hysterectomy. The procedure doesn’t need any surgical incision, only a small nick is made to inject polyvinyl particles.

Don’t simply consider this procedure for fibroid removal, your gynecologist and radiologist will decide whether it is right for you.

Author Bio:

Stephanie writes on womens health, and other useful topics such as breast cancer, fibroids, diabetes, obesity, reproductive health, infertility, birth control, and PMS.