Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) is a procedure used to shrink and ultimately eliminate the symptoms many women experience from fibroids. Fibroids are benign (non-cancerous) tumors that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus. While fibroids do not always cause symptoms, their size and location can often cause women to experience heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain and pressure, pain in the back or legs, pain during sexual intercourse, bladder pressure leading to a constant urge to urinate, or an abnormally enlarged abdomen.

UFE is a minimally invasive procedure that relieves the symptoms caused by fibroids in 97% of the patients. Although there are other accepted treatments for fibroids, UFE is considered one of the least invasive procedures with generally little or no side effects to the patient.

Interventional Radiology is a rapidly growing area of medicine. Interventional Radiologists are specially trained doctors who use their expertise in reading x-rays, ultrasound, and other medical images to guide small instruments through blood vessels and other pathways to treat disease without an open surgical incision.

Most procedures performed by Interventional Radiologists are minimally invasive (that is they do not require an open surgical incision) and are performed using imaging guidance (X-ray fluoroscopy, CT scan, ultrasound, and/or MRI). These procedures are typically less invasive and much less costly than traditional surgery.

While gynecologists are specially trained to perform hysterectomies, myomectomies, and other less invasive laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgical procedures, most of them have not been formally trained and therefore do not possess the skills necessary to perform uterine fibroid embolization.