PHOENIX - Women recover more rapidly after uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) than they do after myomectomy, according to a presentation today at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) meeting.
Lead investigator Dr. John Lipman, medical director of the Center for Minimally Invasive Therapy in Atlanta, said both procedures present significant improvement in quality of life (QOL), but he told AuntMinnie.com that there is "no significant QOL differences between myomectomy and UFE." Seventy-five percent of myomectomy patients recorded improved QOL scores after the procedure, as did 81.2% of the UFE-treated women.
Lipman’s study enrolled 149 women treated with UFE and 60 women who opted for surgery. The UFE women underwent embolization with the PVA system from Boston Scientific of Natick, MA.
At six months, the women in the UFE arm had bleeding scores that were reduced by 55.2%, while in the myomectomy arm, bleeding scores dropped by 46.1%
But significant differences were recorded for hospitalization -- one day for UFE versus 2.5 days for myomectomy; 15 days of recovery for UFE versus 44 days for surgical patients.
During a SIR press conference, Lipman emphasized that "this is a procedure that is performed by interventional radiologists, not by gynecologists, and that message has to get out to women."
UFE has generated tension between interventionalists and gynecologists. For some time, the latter group has cast a suspicious eye on the procedure, which is currently performed by interventional radiologists.
But the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) may be warming up to UFE, commented Dr. Robert Vogelzang, professor of radiology at Northwestern University in Chicago. "They no longer use the term ‘experimental,’ and that’s a good sign," he said.
The ACOG statement, however, does urge women to first undergo a complete assessment by an ob/gyn before seeking treatment from an interventional radiologist.
Vogelzang said he welcomes the new opinion from ACOG, noting that cooperation between ob/gyns and interventionalists "is really the way this should work." Asked about the possibility of a joint UFE statement from the two organizations, Vogelzang said there have been some discussions among the leaders of both groups, but no statements were yet in the works.
Moreover, Vogelzang said that surgery still dominates fibroid treatment, noting that "there are about 200,000 hysterectomies each year and only about 20,000 UFE procedures."
By Peggy PeckAuntMinnie.com contributing writer
March 26, 2004
Related Reading
IR, ob/gyns square off in UAE performance debate, March 25, 2004
Ob/Gyn group advises against uterine artery embolization for certain women, February 4, 2004
Uterine Fibroids: Embolization and Other Treatments, February 3, 2004
Cheaper UAE edges out hysterectomy for uterine fibroid treatment, January 17, 2003
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