A new non-sugical treatment for fibroids is being trialled at the Brigham Womens hospital, Boston, USA. They are using an ultrasound beam to produce thermal(heat) energy to destroy the fibroid, whilst using an MRI scanner to view the progress. Its still in very early clinical trials. It has been tried on women with fibroids but there are no long term figures available yet. The Brigham's Women's Hospital, (Boston) initial trials were on 55 women who were due to have hysterectomy. Not everyone had the full ultrasound treatment but for those that did it seemed to be effective. They then had their scheduled hysterectomies The reports say that there were no major complications. There were some women who didnt want a hysterectomy after the ultrasound procedure. They will be monitoring them to see whether any fibroid reduction is permanent & if any complications develop. Advantages of the procedure include shorter recovery times & it may be a new alternative to hysterectomy (womb removal).
The procedure looks promising. The concerns expressed about it were:
that the ultrasound beam may damage other organs if not performed correctly,
risk of adhesions.
The difficulty of treating large fibroids successfully, although fibroids of 10cm were treated.
Also no-one knows what the long term effects will be on fertility, will it weaken the womb?
They expect trials to be going on until 2005 when they'll be able to give feedback from the women.
Brigham Women's hospital http://www.brighamandwomens.org/healthinfo/healthinfoframes.asp?id=63
The Mayo clinic is starting a trial http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2002-rst/1016.html
More info about the technique. Magnetic resonance (MR) image-guided, focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) uses high-intensity ultrasound waves to heat and destroy uterine fibroids, and early test results have been positive,
http://www4.fosters.com/tech/Weekly_files/081203/tech_08.12.03b.asp
John Hopkins & others trial http://www.healthandage.com/Home/gm=6!gid1=1428
http://www.peoplelivingwithcancer.org/plwc/MainConstructor/1,1744,_12-001147-00_17-001029-00_18-0029310-00_19-0029311-00_20-001-00_21-008,00.html
