Keywords:
Genital / Reproductive system female, Interventional vascular, MR, Embolisation, Treatment effects, Neoplasia
Authors:
E. Y. Auyoung, L. Ratnam, R. Das, S. M. Ameli, L. Mailli; London/UK
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-3533
Aims and objectives
Uterine artery embolisation (UAE) is an efficacious and less invasive alternative to surgery that results in infarction,
coagulative necrosis,
and eventual shrinkage of uterine fibroids [1,2].
The procedure is generally associated with a low risk of complications,
but in approximately 2.5% of patients,
there is passage of the fibroid tissue through the uterine wall,
resulting in symptoms of pain,
infection,
or bleeding [3].
In some cases,
the fibroid is fully expelled,
but in others,
the fibroid may simply travel across the uterine wall,
in what we have coined,
migration.
We have noted that intramural fibroids,
specifically,
can migrate across the myometrium to become a submucosal fibroid,
or be expelled – resulting in distressing symptoms and,
in some cases,
the need for further treatment.
In this study,
we analyse fibroid features on MR images to identify characteristics that can predict intramural fibroid migration,
and thus better anticipate this specific complication of UAE.