New treatment for fibroids

A free lecture about uterine fibroid embolization, a nonsurgical relief for fibroids, will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wed., Feb. 25 at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center, 215 W. Janss Road,, Thousand Oaks.

Three out of every four American women have uterine fibroids (benign tumors) and about a third of them suffer from severe and debilitating symptoms, which may send many women to the operating room for a hysterectomy.

Surgically removing the uterus requires a fourtosix week recovery period and often comes with longterm physical and psychological side effects.

Many women are not aware they have a nonsurgical and uterine sparing choice in treating fibroids called uterine fibroid embolization, also called uterine artery embolization. Most insurance companies cover UFE, which takes about one hour and requires a one-week recovery period.

During UFE, an interventional radiologist, a specialist who treats conditions nonsurgically by looking into the body with X-rays and imaging techniques, uses a catheter inserted into a small incision in the blood vessel at the top of the patient's leg to inject tiny round particles called embosphere microspheres into the blood vessels leading to the fibroids. These particles remain in the blood vessels, blocking the blood flow to the fibroids and causing them to shrink, thus relieving symptoms.

For more information, call interventional radiologist Catherine A. Moses, MD, at (805) 370-4282.