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The Two Part Uterine Fibroids TechniqueHow I found a way to keep my uterus and quickly get back to my daily life
By: Hope Waltman
There are some small
studies that have shown no complications for pedunculated fibroids treated
with embolization if the diameter of attachment is 2 cm or larger. The uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) procedure The Angiography Suite is where the procedure is performed.
The Interventional Radiologist sterilizes the skin lying on top of a large artery located in the groin area with an iodine solution and numbs it with a local anesthetic. The injection for the anesthetic may sting and burn for a few seconds. A needle is inserted into the artery and exchanged for a plastic catheter about the thickness of a strand of spaghetti. Watching under X-ray the Interventional Radiologist then maneuvers the catheter into the main arteries supplying the uterus and injects small plastic particles to plug up the blood vessels supplying the fibroids. X-ray dye is injected through the catheter to show the vessels during this process, and the patient may feel sensations of warmth from these injections (Figure A).
“Illustration (Figures A & B) by Mr. John Byrnes, Used with permission of Image Guided Surgery Associates, PC” Once the catheter is in position, the IR injects particles of a special plastic that block the blood vessels supplying the uterine fibroids (Figure B). The particles are round and are about the same size as grains of salt. When the procedure is over, the catheter is removed from the artery and pressure is applied at the small puncture site to stop the bleeding. Depending on how the patient is feeling she may not have to stay over night at the hospital. Definitions: Abdominal Myomectomy (laparotomy) – A surgical procedure to cut fibroids out of the wall of the uterus. This is the procedure usually chosen by women who want to preserve fertility and/or preserve their uterus. The major drawback to the procedure is that the fibroids may come back. (Recurrence rates vary tremendously, but average 20%. Young women and women with many myomas have a greater risk of recurrence than older women or women with just a few fibroids.) Laparoscopic Myomectomy – A procedure in which the surgeon inserts a small telescope, laparoscope near the belly button and other instruments through two to three additional small incisions on the abdomen. A camera attached to the laparoscope projects the image seen in the abdomen to a large TV monitor. The surgeon then cuts the uterus, removes the fibroids and sutures the incisions on the uterus. Special instruments are used to remove the fibroids from the abdomen. Most patients go home the same day or after overnight observation. Pedunculated fibroid - Uterine Fibroids growing on a stalk, which is called a pedicle. This can be a subserosal pedunculated fibroid, growing on the outside of the uterus, or a submucosal fibroid, growing into the endometrial cavity. The stalk can get twisted which can cause severe pain, although this is extremely rare. Uterine Fibroid Embolization (a.k.a. Uterine Artery Embolization) - One of the most effective treatments for bleeding is to stop the blood supply to the area that is bleeding by blocking the vessels from the inside, this is known as “embolization”. Embolization of the arteries to the uterus has been used as a treatment for severe uterine bleeding after surgery or childbirth since at least the late 1970s, and is used as a treatment for uterine fibroids. Other Sources:
Patient Brochures can be found at web site URL:
http://www.hopeforfibroids.org/questionstoask.html |
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