Why Women Opt For MFgFUS To Deal With Fibroids

Posted by Logintohealth on October 5th, 2018

Uterine Fibroids is a common disease in women and is the cause of multiple symptoms and complications such as menstrual pain and profuse menstruation. The choice of approach for its treatment (hysteroscopy, laparoscopy or open abdominal surgery) depends on the location and size of the fibroid, and whether the patient wants to maintain fertility or not.

Conservative medical approaches or medication such as NSAIDs, progesterone-based oral contraceptives, etc. can improve fibroid-related symptoms, but they can significantly delay pregnancy and often have only a temporary effect or have not been approved for this application. For the ultimate cure of fibroids, several surgical procedures have been developed such as hysterectomy or minimally invasive surgical procedures like abdominal myomectomy, laparoscopic myomectomy, uterine artery embolization, and fibroids amylolysis.

The widely-operated single incision laparoscopic surgery requires general anesthesia, 4 to 5 day hospitalization period, and a relatively long period of recovery in this busy modern society. For this reason, more non-invasive treatment methods have been implemented.

Recently, as a non-invasive method, Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) was introduced. MRgFUS uses high intensity focused ultrasonic waves to destroy or ablate uterine fibroids under real-time monitoring. The use of focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) or high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) was first discovered in 1942 but its application has become majorly popular in recent times due to the fast pace of life, given its benefits. MRgFUS allows radiologists and surgeons to localize, target, monitor, and control the energy delivered by the ultrasound machine to kill the fibroid, without the use of a scalpel or even a needle. 
Most fibroids tend to decrease after menopause and their symptoms are recovered.

Given this fact, MRgFUS has emerged as a very promising treatment. The MRgFUS treatment is a kind of thermotherapy which does not require general anesthesia and hospitalization while also preserving the uterus. Patients can leave the hospital on that same day and return to their normal life. There are a few popular hospitals in Mumbai where this procedure is performed namely Jaslok Hospital and Research Center. 
The potential benefits of using focused ultrasound to treat uterine fibroids in symptomatic cases include:

1. It is a non-invasive (does not require anesthesia or incisions) treatment with a low risk of complications, a short recovery time and a quick return to regular work and the activities of daily life (usually the next day). 
2. It offers rapid and durable treatment of fibroid symptoms, sometimes within days of treatment. 
3. It has a low rate of complications. 
4. Most importantly, it preserves the possibility of retaining fertility after fibroid treatment. Clinical evidence has shown that women are able to conceive after treatment.

However, there are certainly rare, potential side-effects or complications after MRgFUS treatment which are described below:

1. pain (usually low and of short duration) 
2. skin burns 
3. slight inflammation of fat tissue and abdominal muscles 
4. intestinal lesions or intestinal perforation (extremely rare) 
5. vaginal discharge 
6. increased or irregular periods for around 3 months post procedure 
7. premature menopause 
8. permanent loss of ovarian function 
9. disturbances in contraction of muscles of the uterus, thus, leading to sterility.

Since there is no exposure to ionizing radiation, there is no risk of mutagenicity/carcinogenicity (development of cancer).

Hence, Currently, MRgFUS treatment for fibroids can be recommended to women with uterine fibroids who strictly reject even simple surgical treatments like laparoscopy; who have a very great or unacceptably high surgical risk and who want to maintain their fertility in the future.