| September 2005 · Vol. 17, No. 9 UPDATE on TECHNOLOGY
New Developments That Are Changing Patient Care
A look at the latest fibroid treatments, including uterine artery embolization, focused ultrasound, and drug therapy.
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Fast Track
Counsel women about all fibroid treatments—including the option of doing nothing
Pain during focused ultrasound eased as soon as the procedure ended
Asoprisnil has antiproliferative effects that induce amenorrhea despite normal estrogen levels
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Barbara
S.
Levy,
MDOBG Management
Board of Editors
Medical Director
Women’s Health Center
Franciscan Health System
Federal Way, Wash
Not long ago, women with uterine fibroids had to choose between hysterectomy and abdominal myomectomy to alleviate their symptoms. Then came minimally invasive surgeries such as laparoscopic myomectomy and hysteroscopic myoma resection, although even now these surgeries are offered by a limited number of skilled gynecologic surgeons. And despite their substantially shorter recovery times, these procedures are still surgeries, with inherent complications. On top of that, long-term outcomes data are limited.
Enter the next generation of fibroid treatments: uterine artery embolization (UAE), focused ultrasound with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance, and selective progesterone receptor modulators—though the last option is still in the pipeline. Gynecologists will be seeing advertisements and promotional materials for these interventions in the near and not-so-distant future.
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