Guest guest Posted April 22, 2001 Report Share Posted April 22, 2001 There is a new treatment that embolises the fibroids thereby cutting off the blood supply to them. This causes the fibroid tissue to shrink and die. The doctor inserts a catheter into the artery in the groin (inguinal area) and using fluoroscopy (xray) direction, he/she tries to get the tip of this catheter as close as possible to the artery that feeds blood to the fibroid. He/she then releases small plastic spheres into this artery blocking it and preventing blood flow to the fibroid(s). This surgery/procedure is not done everywhere as yet. It has allowed women to retain their uterii. Another techique is called hysteroscopy and is basically scoping of the interior of the uterus. Peduculated or polyp-like fibroids can be removed this way, if they are not too large. Larger ones can be cut off and cut into smaller pieces for removal through the vagina. Sometimes it is not possible to do this procedure, but it is more common or available than the embolisation described in the first paragraph. Myomectomy, as described by Dutch Pat, is also fairly available in North America. These procedures are more common in teaching hospitals, at least in Canada. Aubrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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