Outcome & Follow-Up After UAE
Overview
Uterine artery embolization (UAE) is a non-surgical treatment approach advocated for adenomyosis patients who failed hormonal therapy and have a desire to preserve the uterus. This procedure is advantageous because it is minimally invasive and maintains the patient’s fertility.
Uterine artery embolization appears to be effective in alleviating the symptoms in patients with pure or dominant adenomyosis or adenomyosis coexisting with fibroids. More and more women suffering from adenomyosis are opting for this new non-surgical treatment option and are getting back to their normal life.
Outcome after UAE (Uterine artery embolization):
- Two major symptoms presented by most patients, dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia, are significantly relieved.
- More than 80% of women suffering from adenomyosis report improvement within a few months of UAE treatment.
More than two-thirds of those women who underwent UAE treatment report relief form their symptoms that lasted for manyyears.
Follow-up after UAE
A follow-up visit after UAE treatment is very important to know the success of this procedure and to objectively document the shrinkage of the bulky uterus (adenomyosis) on imaging.
First clinical visit after UAE:
- On your first visit to the outpatient clinic, usually on the 7th day after UAE treatment, Dr. Sandeep might send routine blood tests, including hemoglobin level as well as WBC counts and ESR, to rule out any infection.
3 months clinical follow-up:
- Subsequent follow-up at 3 months in outpatient clinics or by telephone.
6 months clinical follow-up:
- At 6 monthfollow-up, Dr. Sandeep would investigate you with an MRI pelvis and would confirm adenomyosis shrinkage and reduction of fibroid volume.
Imaging findings on follow-up MRI:
Clinical improvements correlate well with MRI findings and give further assurance.
- Significant decreases in uterine volume (bulky uterus) at 3 months.
- Decrease junctional zone thickness.
- Infarction(death) of adenomyosis
Consultation with Dr. Sandeep Burathoki for UAE (Uterine artery embolization)
- It’s important that you discuss your problem with Dr. Sandeep.
- After a detailed clinical history and studying your USG and MRI imaging in detail, he would decide if you are going to benefit from the UAE procedure.
- He might ask you to wait for some time (a month or so) if you are on hormonal (e.g., levonorgestrel, intrauterine device [IUD], as it might affect the UAE outcome.
- UAE is a good option for women with adenomyosis who desire future fertility because there are few other appropriate treatment options for these patients.
Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Sandeep Burathoki, for any query or concern related to Adenomyosis.
