Uterine Myomas

Ablation of Uterine Myomas

Myomas are benign tumors originating from the muscle layer of the uterus. They occur in about 20-25% of women of reproductive age. They do not cause symptoms when they are small in size. When they reach larger sizes such as 5-6 cm, they can cause problems such as pain, constipation, frequent urination, irregular bleeding and infertility.

As a treatment, fibroids (myomectomy) or the entire uterus (hysterectomy) can usually be removed. As an alternative to surgery, non-surgical treatments can be applied with interventional radiologic methods. These methods are embolization and ablation.

Embolization: It is an angiographic method. The arteries feeding the fibroids are accessed through the inguinal artery and occlusive agents are injected into them. Although the method is quite successful, radiation to the reproductive organs is the most important disadvantage.

Ablation: Under ultrasound guidance, microwave or radiofrequency needles are inserted into the fibroid through the skin or vagina and then the fibroid is burned. The procedure is performed under general anesthesia. No incision is made on the skin. Ablation usually takes 10-20 minutes. The patient can be discharged the same day after the procedure. With this method, fibroids shrink between 50-70% in about a year. The patient's complaints are greatly improved.