Interventional Radiology

Also called uterine artery embolization (UAE), this approach preserves the uterus with little to no blood loss. The procedure involves placing a small catheter tube into the artery of the upper leg and then feeding it into the uterine artery, which supplies the fibroid tumors with blood. To block blood to the fibroids, tiny beads are injected into the artery, leading to significant fibroid shrinkage, thus alleviating symptoms.  

The doctor performs this procedure under live X-ray with contrasts. It takes about an hour and is completed under moderate sedation (you're neither fully awake nor asleep).

In most cases, you can return home the same day. You'll be able to eat right after the procedure, and walk around after a few hours of rest.

Pain from UFE is caused from the fibroid tumor muscle dying and usually feels like a very bad menstrual cramp. While pain tends to be the worst the night of the procedure, it's usually significantly better by the following day and doesn't last more than about four days.

Also common is a mild degree of "post-embolization syndrome," or a flu-like bug with a mild temperature, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue, which can last a week.

Many return to work within one to two weeks and are given medications to put any pain at bay from the comfort of home.

In a majority of cases, women are permanently cured of uterine fibroid symptoms. UFE has been performed safely for more than 20 years to hundreds of thousands of women and is highly recommended by both the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Society of Interventional Radiology.

Despite the concerns, many women note either improved or unchanged sex drive after the procedure, without any negative impact. Only in rare cases could UFE have an adverse effect on a woman's sex life.

You can, indeed, still get pregnant after having had UFE. While it's not a fertility procedure, conception rates after UFE are similar to the main surgical alternative (myomectomy). However, we recommend waiting 6 months before trying to conceive. This is because the tissues need to return to a more normal state for the procedure to have taken full effect.

Adenomyosis is a non-malignant condition in which there exists an abnormal amount of endometrial tissue (inner lining of uterus) within the myometrium (thicker, more muscular layer of the uterus). While different from fibroids tumors, adenomyosis can also cause heavy periods and increased bleeding. The standard treatment has been hysterectomy, but 75% of those with adenomyosis can be cured with UFE.