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A Nonsurgical Option for Women with Uterine Fibroids
an article from the Fall 2009 issue of…
Doctors have good news for women with uterine fibroids. While once the only treatment option was a hysterectomy, a less invasive solution is now available — uterine fibroid embolization (UFE ). Harbor Hospital's expert interventional radiologist, Andrew Brown, M.D., has been performing UFE procedures for almost 10 years.
Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors in the female reproductive system. While the majority of uterine fibroids are diagnosed and treated in women between the ages of 35 and 54, fibroids can occur in women younger than 35.
More than 600,000 women undergo hysterectomies in the United States each year, but some doctors believe that many women do not need this operation. A hysterectomy is the complete removal of the uterus, which requires general anesthesia, up to four days of hospitalization and usually five to six weeks of recovery.
The alternative UFE procedure is performed by an interventional radiologist and involves a small incision in the groin. A catheter is inserted into the arteries that feed the uterus, and small particles are injected through the catheter, blocking off the blood supply to the fibroid(s). "The patient is observed overnight, discharged the following day and can return to work the following week," Dr. Brown said.
The procedure is 90 percent effective in treating bleeding caused by fibroids and there are virtually no significant risks.
"I believe strongly that the UFE procedure is an excellent alternative to a hysterectomy or other surgical treatments of uterine fibroids. UFE allows women to return to a normal life without the burden of a major surgery," said Dr. Brown.
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