Choosing a treatment option for uterine fibroids is today one of the most relevant problems in gynecological practice. Thanks to the success of modern medicine and the increased level of the population’s culture, female patients seek medical help without waiting for the tumor to acquire significant sizes. However, in practice, there are cases when fibroids reach gigantic sizes. Hysterectomy is a traditional approach to treating uterine fibroids of these sizes according to the current clinical guidelines. The introduction of new high-tech treatments, such as uterine artery embolization, has led to a revision of radical surgery, by giving preference to alternative approaches especially in cases where the patient desires to preserve the reproductive organ. The paper describes a clinical case that confirms an individual approach to choosing a treatment option towards organ-sparing surgery for giant uterine fibroids. The use of endovascular embolization of the uterine arteries as a treatment for giant uterine fibroids is shown to be justified as an organ-sparing surgery if the patient desires to preserve reproductive function.
Introduction: According to the clinical recommendations of the Healthcare Ministry of Russia (2021), uterine artery embolization (UAE) in uterine fibroid is an alternative to surgical treatment in case of high surgical risk and absence of contraindications in women who do not desire pregnancy. The advantages of UAE are associated with lesser blood loss, shorter hospital stay, and recovery of the working capacity. Here, we present an analysis of the literature and our 14-year clinical experience in performing UAE in uterine fibroid. Screening and primary diagnosis of uterine fibroid and indications and contraindications of UAE in the current publications were analyzed. Different methods of EUA implementation were described, and the advantages of the transradial access (TRA) are demonstrated on the basis of the actual clinical experience.
Conclusion: The results obtained in the use of TRA revealed the reduction of radioscopy time and surgery time in general, which are beneficial in terms of the reduction of radiation exposure. Besides, an argument for the given access is a considerably lower frequency of serious complications at the access site. The main obstacles to the introduction and wide use of TRA are based on the lack of specialist experience, absence of specialized training programs, and use of unsuitable and traumatizing instruments. One of the unsolved questions is the absence of an anesthesia protocol, which must be developed with the participation of both gynecologists and specialists on X-ray endovascular diagnostics and treatment.
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