Focused ultrasound is not an operation. Instead of surgery, we use high-intensity, focused ultrasound waves to heat and destroy fibroid tissue.
This is a non-invasive procedure, which means you won't need:
- Incisions
- Radiation
- Anesthesia
- Hospitalization
The recovery time is one day.
About the Focused Ultrasound Procedure
The procedure, which lasts about 4 hours, takes place in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. This machine takes pictures of your uterus, fibroid(s) and surrounding tissues. The MRI allows us to:
- Plan the treatment procedure
- Make sure the sound waves are working
- Monitor the accuracy and progress of the procedure
- Assess the amount of fibroid tissue destroyed
During the treatment session, you'll be able to communicate with the medical team as needed. You can also have some sedation to make you feel comfortable. And if you experience severe pain, you'll have a button that makes the treatment stop.
Fibroids may recur or come back. We can do the procedure again, as needed.
Focused Ultrasound Helped Gloria's Fibroids
Learn about Gloria's focused ultrasound treatment at UVA. View uterine fibroid clinic transcript.
Focused Ultrasound for Fibroids: The Right Option for You?
We evaluate eligibility for this treatment on a case-by-case basis. We may discover that we can't perform this procedure because you have:
- Too many fibroids
- Fibroids that are too large
- Fibroid tissue too close to old scars, nerves in your spine, your intestines or pubic bone
- The kind of fibroids that will likely be resistant to the therapy
Factors to Consider
When deciding whether or not you want this treatment, you should also consider:
- Reproductive risk – research continues to review a woman’s ability to have children after treatment.
- Costs – since many insurance companies still consider this treatment investigational, they may not cover the costs. This means you'd have to pay for the procedure.
Learn more about focused ultrasound technology.