Interventional Radiologist, Dr. Chris Dobzyniak, discusses Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE) for the treatment of uterine fibroids. In this video, Dr. Dobzyniak details what a patient can expect before, during, and after an UAE procedure, a safe and minimally invasive treatment option for uterine fibroids.
I'm Doctor Chris Tak. I'm an interventional radiologist. An interventional radiologist is a specialized doctor who uses the tools of the radiologist to see inside the body to treat medical conditions that have traditionally required much more invasive treatments. Interventional radiology procedures can be used to treat a wide range of conditions often through only a pinprick. These low risk techniques result in minimal downtime, little to no recovery time, often immediate return to normal activity and just a band aid as evidence that you have had any treatment at all. Today, we're going to talk about uterine artery embolization, commonly abbreviated UAE as a treatment for uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids, also known as uterine lym myoma are benign non cancerous growths that arise in the uterus and are the most common benign tumor in women. Fibroids are very common occurring in as high as 80% of women and are most commonly seen in those ages. 30 to 50 fibroids do not always cause problems. But when they do common symptoms may include excessive bleeding and painful periods, bleeding between periods or vaginal discharge, frequent urination or an inability to completely empty one's bladder, low back pain or pain during intercourse, constipation, feelings of abdominal or pelvic fullness and abdominal swelling or distention, fibroids can result in such heavy periods or spotting that patients can become anemic and even require blood transfusions. When your symptoms suggest fibroids is a culprit. Your doctor may order an ultrasound or MRI to evaluate the size location and number of fibroids. If there are no symptoms, then the fibroids do not require treatment. However, when they become troublesome treatment may become necessary. Treatment may include pain medications to address pain and cramping, iron supplementation to treat anemia. Hormonal therapy helps shrink the fibroids and other medications that may slow bleeding by helping the body to form clots. When medicines fail surgical options such as myomectomy where one or a few fibroids are removed surgically or hysterectomy where the uterus is completely removed can be considered an alternative to surgical treatments. Is uterine artery embolization, which is performed by an interventional radiologist. It is estimated that over 70% of women suffering from fibroids could avoid surgery and be successfully treated with the less invasive UAE. In uterine artery embolization. Your interventional radiologist will access the arterial system of the body via 18 inch neck in the skin near the hip or sometimes the wrist. Then under X ray guidance. A catheter which is a small hollow plastic tube about the size of a piece of uncooked spaghetti is guided under real time X ray into the left and then right uterine arteries uterine artery is the blood vessel that supplies blood oxygen and nutrients to the fibroids. Each uterine artery is then plugged up using small plastic beads, thus choking off the fibroids. The procedure takes less than an hour to do and is typically performed under moderate sedation. Most patients just fall asleep and experience no discomfort during the procedure. When the procedure is completed, you are left with just a band aid. Many patients can go home the same day. Most patients will experience between one and several days of pelvic cramping, but many can return to their normal lives within a few days after the procedure. After UAE, the fibroids start to shrink immediately. Over 90% of women who undergo UAE report substantial improvements in their symptoms and their quality of life. Uterine artery embolization is a safe, minimally invasive way to treat symptomatic uterine fibroids in the vast majority of cases and allows most sufferers to avoid surgery and long term medication.
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