Dear AuntMinnie Member,
A series of studies from this week's Society of Interventional Radiology meeting in New Orleans confirms the effectiveness of using uterine fibroid embolization in treating uterine fibroids.
The papers range from a study tracking the long-term effectiveness of UFE to research exploring how the size of the embolization particles can impact the efficacy of treatment. Contributing writer Peggy Peck was on hand to report on the presentations for our Women's Imaging Digital Community.
The study on UFE's long-term effectiveness was conducted by U.S. researchers, who found that almost three-fourths of the women studied had sustained improvement for five years, a rate that compares favorably to myomectomy. The research also provides some information on which types of patients stand to benefit most from UFE.
The studies examining the issue of fibroid size sought to address suspicions that using smaller spherical particles for UFE is less effective than employing larger spheres. For the most part, they confirmed these suspicions, although one study found that smaller nonspherical particles worked better than larger spherical particles.
You can read all about it here, or simply visit the Women's Imaging Digital Community at womens.auntminnie.com.
