Outpatient Treatment Possible For Patients with Uterine Fibroid Tumors

Researchers from Mayo Clinic had developed focused ultrasound to be used in the outpatient department in the hospital for treating women suffering from uterinefibroid tumors.

Focused ultrasound is a welcome advance in treating this common condition that affects an estimated 40 percent of women over age 40, because it is the first completely noninvasive treatment available for symptoms from uterine fibroid tumors. Women leave the doctor’s office the same day, and resume activities the following day. Focused ultrasound technology relies on the precise delivery of high-energy sound waves to destroy non-cancerous tumors that have grown in the muscular wall of the uterus. Treatment is done with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine in a session that lasts about four hours. The patient is given a mild sedative before and during the procedure, and lies face down while the radiologist uses a computer to guide the MRI machine and locate the fibroids. Once the fibroids are located, high frequency, high-energy sound waves are applied. The patient may feel warmth or cramping in the pelvis. No hospitalization is necessary, and generally patients require no post-procedure pain medication, or need only simple over-the-counter pain medications after the procedure. Treatment starts in obstetrics and gynecology department where specialists determine if focused ultrasound for the patient is, in fact, her best option, and to detect any other relevant health issues. Radiologists then perform the procedure, said a resident medical practitioner from Mayo Clinic. The ideal patient being referred to Mayo Clinic for evaluation for the focused ultrasound procedure is premenopausal, in her mid-30s to mid-50s, finished childbearing, or does not desire children, inconvenienced by uterine bleeding so profuse that it soaks menstrual pads in less than two hours, and requires multiple changes throughout the day, or troubled by pelvic pressure, urinary frequency, or constipation due to uterine fibroids Source: Newswise Medindia on Uterine Fibroids: Uterine Fibroids: These are non-cancerous tumors that are found in uterus. The cause of such a condition is unknown, while the symptoms of the condition are heavy bleeding and feeling f pressure from the uterus. Often women go for hysterectomy as a way of treatment from the condition. Keywords: