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Clinical outcomes of uterine artery embolization and experience of postoperative transvaginal fibroid expulsion: a retrospective analysis

  • Gynecologic Oncology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To explore the efficacy of uterine artery embolization (UAE) in the treatment of uterine fibroid and share the experience of transvaginal fibroid expulsion (FE) after UAE.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the changes in uterine and fibroid volume in 152 patients with symptomatic uterine fibroid after UAE at Fujian Provincial Hospital and Fujian Longyan People Hospital from March 2014 to March 2020. After a 12-month follow-up, the improvement in postoperative clinical symptoms and the incidence of complications were evaluated. We also shared the clinical features and imaging findings of four patients with FE after UAE.

Results

All 152 patients successfully underwent UAE. After a 12-month follow-up, the postoperative volumes of the uterus and fibroid at 3, 6, and 12 months were significantly reduced or disappeared compared to those before surgery (P < 0.05). Clinical symptoms, such as menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, prolonged menstrual period, anemia, increased leucorrhea, pelvic discomfort, and urinary tract compression, were significantly improved after UAE. Among the 152 patients, the incidences of postoperative fever, nausea, vomiting, lower abdominal pain, and increased vaginal secretion were 7.89%, 7.24%, 3.95%, 19.08%, and 4.61%, respectively. Additionally, there were six cases of FE, with an incidence of 3.95%. Three cases of fibroid specimens and pathological images of fibroid biopsy, which were expelled through the vagina, were also provided.

Conclusion

UAE is a satisfactory alternative surgical method for symptomatic uterine fibroid with definitive efficacy and high safety. However, it is necessary to guard against the occurrence of postoperative complications such as FE.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Fujian Province Natural Science Fund Project (2020J011096, 2020J011064) and the Special Research Foundation of Fujian Provincial Department of Finance (No. [2020]822 #), China.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Ruo-li Wang, Qi-tian Fu, Jian Jiang, and Dan-dan Ruan have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350001, China

    Ruo-li Wang, Qi-tian Fu, Jian Jiang, Dan-dan Ruan, Jia-li Lin, Yi Tang, Yan-feng Zhou, Shao-jie Wu, Sen-lin Cai, Jian-hui Zhang, Jie-wei Luo & Zhu-ting Fang

  2. Department of Interventional Radiology, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China

    Yi Tang, Yan-feng Zhou, Shao-jie Wu, Sen-lin Cai & Zhu-ting Fang

  3. Department of Interventional Radiology, Fujian Longyan People Hospital, Longyan, 364000, China

    Qi-tian Fu

  4. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China

    Jie-wei Luo

  5. The School of Public Health of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350001, China

    Jian Jiang

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  1. Ruo-li Wang
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Contributions

RLW, QTF, JJ, DDR, JLL, YT, and JHZ performed the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of the clinical data; YFZ, SJW, and SLC contributed to the materials and consultation for the project development; RLW, QTF, JJ, and DDR drafted the manuscript; QTF provided critical revision of the manuscript; ZTF and JWL designed and supervised the study.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jie-wei Luo or Zhu-ting Fang.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical approval

The need for approval was waived by the local ethical committees as data were collected retrospectively and reported anonymously. All participants signed the informed consent form. All experimental protocols were approved by the Ethics Committee of Fujian Provincial Hospital, No. K2020-04-42, and all methods were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Wang, Rl., Fu, Qt., Jiang, J. et al. Clinical outcomes of uterine artery embolization and experience of postoperative transvaginal fibroid expulsion: a retrospective analysis. Arch Gynecol Obstet 306, 829–840 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-022-06407-5

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