Home OBGYN and Women's Health Fewer Complications Seen With Uterine Fibroid Embolization

Fewer Complications Seen With Uterine Fibroid Embolization

Both UFE and myomectomy are useful for treating symptomatic uterine fibroids

WEDNESDAY, March 27, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Uterine artery embolization (UAE) and myomectomy are both useful for treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids, but UAE offers fewer postprocedural complications, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology, held from March 23 to 28 in Austin, Texas.

Jemianne Bautista-Jia, M.D., from Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues compared the rate of secondary interventions following UAE and myomectomy for treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids in a retrospective cohort study. Data were included for 950 patients (475 in each treatment arm).

The researchers found that compared with the UAE group, patients in the myomectomy group had a higher rate of postprocedural complications, including a significantly higher rate of blood transfusion (2.9 versus 1.1 percent; P = 0.04). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the rate of secondary interventions (8.6 and 9.9 percent in the UAE and myomectomy groups, respectively; P = 0.5). At one year following the initial procedure, both groups demonstrated a significant increase in hemoglobin, with mean differences of 2.5 and 1.9 g/dL in the UAE and myomectomy groups, respectively (both P < 0.01).

“Women have options for treating their uterine fibroids,” Bautista-Jia said in a statement. “Uterine fibroid embolization and myomectomy are procedures with similar efficacy and durability for treating fibroids, but uterine fibroid embolization has fewer complications and shorter hospital stay.”

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