A New Treatment Choice - Without Knife or Needle
Approved by FDA in October 2004, MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) is a completely non-invasive treatment option for some women with fibroids and shows great promise in the treatment of smaller and medium sized fibroids.
MRgFUS uses high intensity focused ultrasonic waves to destroy (ablate) the fibroids under real-time monitoring of the treated tissue. The use of focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) or high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) was first discovered in 1942. MRgFUS allows our interventional radiologist to localize, target, monitor, and control the energy delivered by the ultrasound machine to kill the fibroid, without knife or needle.
Our MRgFUS machine, the ExAblate 2000, is FDA approved for the treatment of uterine fibroids. It has proven itself to be a safe, reliable, and effective way to treat fibroids and has prevented numerous women from undergoing surgery.
This 'knifeless surgery' is done as an outpatient procedure and under conscious sedation. Although relatively new, this treatment option will give a subset of women a treatment choice that gives them fast recovery with limited side effects. Currently this procedure is FDA approved for pre-menopausal women with symptomatic uterine fibroids who have no desire for future pregnancy.
For more information, please visit MR Guided Focused Ultrasound.
