Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE)
Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE)
It’s relatively common for a woman to have uterine fibroids at some point in her life. In most cases, though, these benign tumors don’t cause any pain or other symptoms and are often only discovered during a routine pelvic examination. Uterine fibroids vary greatly in size and shape, from less than an inch to more than six inches in diameter, and can appear throughout the uterus, on its wall, or its surface.
In some cases, uterine fibroids cause women to experience heavy bleeding and pain during periods, bleeding between periods, pain during intercourse, pressure or pain in the abdomen, between hip bones or behind the legs, or an enlarged uterus. Constipation and bloating are also common symptoms.
Most often, they appear in women between 30 and 40 years of age, and more frequently in African American women as well. Family history, birth control use, and alcohol and red meat consumption are also risk factors in the development of fibroids.
Many women are told that hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus) or myomectomy (surgical removal of the fibroids from within the uterus) are the only options to treat fibroids. But hysterectomy has a high complication rate and uterus removal is linked to health problems down the road, including heart disease, incontinence and early menopause, even without ovary removal. Myomectomy preserves the uterus, but fibroids are prone to return and usually do so within 24 months.
Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) is an outpatient-based, minimally invasive procedure to shrink the fibroids and alleviate symptoms. It is a safe alternative to hysterectomy or myomectomy surgery, covered by most insurance and has proven effective even long term.
To find out if UFE is right for you, please take the short quiz below.
If you have uterine fibroids and have questions or would like to understand all of your treatment options, please contact us to schedule an appointment with our doctor at 219-208-6218.
To learn more and see if you may be a candidate for uterine fibroid embolization, please contact us to make an appointment.
Take Our UFE Quiz
