Public education campaign launched on uterine fibroid embolization treatment.

2002 APR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- While two-thirds of American women (66%) are generally knowledgeable about uterine fibroids, the benign tumors that are one of the most common medical conditions experienced by women ages 35-50 and a leading cause of hysterectomy, only 1% of those women know about one of the most significant developments in the treatment of uterine fibroids, according to results of a national survey of women released by the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (SCVIR).

This treatment, called uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), gives women an important, minimally invasive treatment option to hysterectomy and other invasive surgeries, with less risk and less pain.

UFE is performed by interventional radiologists, doctors who specialize in targeted, image-guided treatments. By blocking the blood flow to the fibroids and causing them to shrink, the treatment is approximately 90% successful in alleviating the heavy bleeding and painful periods that are associated with them. "Uterine fibroid embolization is giving women choices. After proper consultation with physicians, now they can make that choice," said Dr. James Spies, vice chairman, department of radiology, Georgetown University Hospital.

Sixty-two percent of the women who said they were familiar with uterine fibroids could correctly identify one or more of its symptoms and 62% identified surgery or hysterectomy as the treatment for fibroids. Only 1% named uterine fibroid embolization as a treatment.

Women turned to their gynecologist (Ob/Gyn) or primary care physician to seek treatment for fibroids with 71% reporting that the first physician they saw for the problem was an Ob/Gyn, 19% talked to their primary care physician and 4% to their internist. Among these women with fibroids, 49% did not seek treatment from any other physician. When asked what other types of physician they saw, 23% said they saw an Ob/Gyn, 6% saw a primary care physician, and 1% saw an interventional radiologist.

Although UFE is widely available throughout the United States and covered by most major insurance carriers, few women know about this treatment option. That is why the Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiology is launching a national ...