Breakthrough Non-Surgical Treatment For Fibroids Not Only Avoids Hysterectomy But Keeps Fertility Intact.

LOS ANGELES--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 21, 1998--

Hawaii woman, 37, has fibroid embolization to avoid hysterectomy 

after 10 years of bleeding and pain. Four months later, she became

pregnant and today is the mother of a healthy baby girl.

She appears to be the first such patient in the nation, illustrating

the best medical technique for fibroid treatment while maintaining

fertility.

After a decade of severe pain, bleeding and bloating, Leslie Miles had had enough of fibroids.

The benign growths in her uterus, so common to American women over 35, were so large she looked four months pregnant. The Kaneohe, Hawaii resident had two menstrual cycles each month, bleeding so much she was now anemic. After years of advice from her doctor, Miles finally agreed to a fibroid treatment that she didn't want. She reluctantly said "yes" to a hysterectomy.

The mother of a 15-year-old daughter, Miles was unsure about more children but she didn't want to lose healthy organs, like her uterus, in a hysterectomy just in case. Today she is glad she selected a fibroid treatment to keep her fertility intact.

Fortunately, just before she could be admitted to the hospital for surgery, Miles heard about a new fibroid procedure, introduced by Bruce McLucas, M.D. in 1997. "I had an option now," she recalls.

But there were obstacles. Her personal physician was less than enthusiastic and resistant to finding out more on her behalf. So Leslie Miles did her own homework, using the Internet as her guide. Before long, her medical records were on their way to Dr. McLucas and she was on her way from Oahu to California for a fibroid embolization.

Women like Miles are increasing in numbers. According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), in 1995 more than 1/3 of the 583,000 hysterectomies performed in the U.S. were due to fibroids. Additionally, between 20-40% of women 35 and older have fibroids which can cause a variety of symptoms, ranging from severe bleeding, bloating and/or pain. Many of these women dread the thought of losing healthy reproductive organs along with their fertility, and they are demanding better options, like the embolization procedure.

According to Bruce McLucas, M.D., a board-certified OB/GYN and faculty member at UCLA in Los Angeles, and part of the initial research team who introduced the technique to U.S. physicians, the procedure uses a non-surgical approach to shrinking fibroid and alleviating symptoms. The outpatient technique is performed by an interventional radiologist who makes a small incision in the groin (less than 1/4"), placing a catheter into the femoral artery and guiding it to the uterine artery via X-ray imaging. A general anesthetic is not required. Small particles are then injected into the uterine artery, cutting off the blood supply to the fibroid and dramatically shrinking it.

"This is similar to suffocating a fire by cutting off the oxygen it needs to burn," noted McLucas, who has treated more than 300 patients to date. "We're essentially doing the same thing to fibroids." Initial research results on the procedure were introduced at the March 1997 meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiologists. McLucas was a member of the initial research team. Additionally, McLucas has co-authored several studies on this procedure, two of which were published in the Journal of the Society for Minimally Invasive Therapy in August 1998.

"Our most recent studies indicate that most fibroids shrink more than 50% with embolization," concluded McLucas. "Additionally, we are seeing more women remain fertile so they can achieve a pregnancy once treatment is completed."

The procedure was first developed in Paris, in the mid-1990's and introduced in the U.S. by the UCLA team. Today, fibroid embolization is widely available across the United States.

For Leslie Miles, the procedure was nothing short of extraordinary. As someone with irregular periods who never had to worry about preventing pregnancy, Miles was shocked and elated four months after the embolization when her now regular period was late.

"It took four home pregnancy tests until I believed it was true," she happily recalls. Baby Elora Noelle (a gift) Kealohilani (heavenly brightness) was born to Leslie and James Miles, Jr. on Sept. 9, 1998.

For more information about fibroid embolization, please call Dr. Bruce McLucas at 310/794-6645.