What is the difference between surgery and UFE?
Your uterus will decrease in size after UFE, but it is not removed as is done with hysterectomy.
UFE is performed under conscious sedation. You will be very relaxed and you can talk with me as the procedure is going, listen to music, and watch the monitor that I am using to follow the procedure. There will be a nurse and one or two radiographer technicians in the room with us; you will not be lonely. If you wish you can drift off to sleep.
Hysterectomy is performed under general anesthesia. You are unconscious, the anesthesiologist will place a tube in your throat so a machine can breath for you, as you will not be breathing on your own.
Hysterectomy is performed under general anesthesia. You are unconscious, the anesthesiologist will place a tube in your throat so a machine can breath for you, as you will not be breathing on your own.
UFE is performed through a small nick in the skin, the size of a pencil point, at the groin. A tiny catheter is advanced into the artery and is guided by x-ray to the arteries that feed the uterus and fibroids. When the procedure is over, you will have a band-aid at the site. No stitches. No staples.
Abdominal hysterectomy is performed by making a large cut through the skin, muscle, connective tissue, blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves to expose and remove your uterus. Your bladder has to pulled out of the way to get to the uterus, and the bladder or the tubes that carry urine from your kidneys to the bladder (the ureters) can be injured during the surgery. Blood vessels are tied off with sutures or metal clips. The connective tissue and muscles are brought back together by more sutures. The large cut in your skin is closed by staples. Your doctor will keep track of how much blood you loose to decide if you need a transfusion. If your uterus is small enough your gynecologist might be able to remove your uterus by laparoscopic resection or through your vagina; either way results in a much faster recovery time than an abdominal hysterectomy. But a uterus with fibroids is often too large to remove this way. If the gynecologist uses the Da Vinci robot to assist the surgery, he/she will be able to see much better but will lose the ability to feel...I have personally taken care of several women who were injured by robot assisted hysterectomy...it is not a cure-all but can be very helpful in making the surgery safer
Abdominal hysterectomy is performed by making a large cut through the skin, muscle, connective tissue, blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves to expose and remove your uterus. Your bladder has to pulled out of the way to get to the uterus, and the bladder or the tubes that carry urine from your kidneys to the bladder (the ureters) can be injured during the surgery. Blood vessels are tied off with sutures or metal clips. The connective tissue and muscles are brought back together by more sutures. The large cut in your skin is closed by staples. Your doctor will keep track of how much blood you loose to decide if you need a transfusion. If your uterus is small enough your gynecologist might be able to remove your uterus by laparoscopic resection or through your vagina; either way results in a much faster recovery time than an abdominal hysterectomy. But a uterus with fibroids is often too large to remove this way. If the gynecologist uses the Da Vinci robot to assist the surgery, he/she will be able to see much better but will lose the ability to feel...I have personally taken care of several women who were injured by robot assisted hysterectomy...it is not a cure-all but can be very helpful in making the surgery safer
Most of our UFE go home 2 hours after their procedure and are ready to go back to work and get on with their life in a week.
Following abdominal hysterectomy you can expect to spend one to three nights in the hospital and miss six-weeks of work or other activity, (less time if the uterus is removed through the vagina or by laparoscope).
Following abdominal hysterectomy you can expect to spend one to three nights in the hospital and miss six-weeks of work or other activity, (less time if the uterus is removed through the vagina or by laparoscope).
Adverse effects of the hysterectomy might show up years after the surgery. The most common cause of small bowel obstruction is prior surgery, and hysterectomy is one of the most likely prior surgeries in women to cause the scar tissue that results in bowel obstruction.
A small handful of case reports show that women with fibroids on the surface of the uterus have a very small risk for of developing a bowel obstruction after UFE. But the likelihood is much, much smaller than after hysterectomy.
A small handful of case reports show that women with fibroids on the surface of the uterus have a very small risk for of developing a bowel obstruction after UFE. But the likelihood is much, much smaller than after hysterectomy.
Your chance of getting pregnant after a hysterectomy is zero.
The chances of getting pregnant after UFE are better than zero, though there is not a lot of data on this topic. Of the several small studies that address this issue, it appears that between 50 and 60% of women who want to get pregnant after UFE are able to do so.
A study in Portugal showed that UFE is as effective as myomectomy in preparing your uterus for pregnancy and another from Johns Hopkins showed that women who had UFE had a 67% chance of getting pregnant compared to 59% of women who were able to conceive after myomectomy.
The chances of getting pregnant after UFE are better than zero, though there is not a lot of data on this topic. Of the several small studies that address this issue, it appears that between 50 and 60% of women who want to get pregnant after UFE are able to do so.
A study in Portugal showed that UFE is as effective as myomectomy in preparing your uterus for pregnancy and another from Johns Hopkins showed that women who had UFE had a 67% chance of getting pregnant compared to 59% of women who were able to conceive after myomectomy.