Symptomatic improvement in uterine myomas after MRgFUS: 4 year follow up Available to Purchase

Objective: To assess the long‐term improvement in symptoms after magnetic resonance‐guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) for uterine myomas. Methods: Japanese women with symptomatic myomas underwent MRgFUS using the ExAblate 2000 system. The symptom severity score (SSS) was examined before and after the treatment at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 months. Simultaneously, we asked the patients’ satisfaction level regarding the overall change of subjective symptoms: symptom free, improved a great deal, improved to some extent, no change, or worsened. The myoma volumes were measured at 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months after MRgFUS. Results: No severe adverse event occurred with any of the patients. The mean SSS value before treatment was $38.3±21.5$ $(n = 106),$ which diminished significantly during follow‐up for 3–48 months after treatment. Patients’ satisfaction level was favorable, although the response rate was low. Over 80% of the patients replied that their symptoms were improved to at least some extent, and over 50% of the patients replied that their symptoms were improved a great deal. This trend continued throughout this follow up period. The mean myoma volume was also decreased from the pretreatment volume in this follow up period. Conclusion: MRgFUS is an effective and safe method for treating symptomatic uterine myomas. Long‐term symptomatic improvement is promising.