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Results and Complications
UFE is technically successful in 98% to 100% of cases. After uterine fibroid embolization, greater than 90% of patients with abnormal bleeding or bulk-related symptoms related to fibroids will have complete or significant relief of their symptoms. Patients with abnormal bleeding usually report significant improvement in their first menstrual cycle following UFE. Bulk-related symptoms start to improve immediatly but may take up to six months to realize maximum benefit. Follow up ultrasound or MRI of fibroids shows a reduction in size of 50% to 70% at one year. Uterine fibroid embolization is effective for multiple fibroids.
Recurrence of fibroids after embolization has not yet been reported. Long term data (10 year) is not yet available, but in one study in which patients were followed for six years, no fibroid that had been embolized regrew.
UFE has been met with a high degree of patient satisfaction. In one study 88% to 94% of patients surveyed were either satisfied or very satisfied with their procedure and it's results
The complications rate of UFE has been low. Complications related to angiography such as bleeding, injury to the artery, allergy to X-ray dye, occur in less than one percent of patients.
A small number of patients of may experience infection following the procedure which usually can be managed with antibiotics. There is a less than one percent chance of injury to the uterus which could require hysterectomy. The rates of infection are lower than those of hysterectomy and myomectomy.
Early menopause can be precipitated by UFE and has been shown to occur in approximately one percent of all cases. The risk is highest in women more than 45 years of age.
Sexual dysfunction, sometimes reported after hysterectomy, has been described in one case following UFE.
Passage or expulsion of the shrunken fibroids through the cervix and vagina may occur in five percent of patients and can happen up to a year following the procedure. Rarely, expelled fibroids can become lodged at the cervix and lead to an infection of the uterus. The expelled fibroid can usually be removed during a speculum exam.
The radiation dose of uterine fibroid embolization is similar to other routine X-ray exams. No increased cancer risk following UFE has been shown to date.
The effect of UFE on fertility has not been definitively studied. Most investigators have reported cases of women who have become pregnant following UFE. Studies have shown that women who have undergone the uterine artery embolization (UAE) for bleeding after childbirth have had no problems with fertility. A recent study comparing the fertility of of women who had UFE with those who had myomectomy showed similar numbers of successful pregnancies for both groups. However, the long term effects on the ability of a woman to have children after UFE have not been fully determined.
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