Interventional treatment of uterine fibroids Uterine fibroids are tumors that occur in the muscular layer of the uterus and are overwhelmingly benign. The exact cause of uterine fibroids is unclear, and after extensive clinical studies, it is now believed that they may be related to high estrogen levels localized in the body of the uterus. In clinical practice, there are symptomatic fibroids and asymptomatic fibroids. Symptomatic fibroids, as the name implies, have clinical symptoms, which are generally manifested as irregular menstruation such as excessive menstruation, menstrual disorders, etc. They may also show symptoms of pressure such as urinary urgency, frequent urination, increased nocturia, difficulty in stool, lower abdominal cramps, etc., increased leucorrhea, infertility, and in some patients, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. There is another kind of asymptomatic fibroids, which are often found when the fibroids are large and unintentionally felt in the abdomen or during routine gynecological examinations. If you have fibroids, don’t be afraid, the most important thing is to go to a regular hospital and only when the presence of fibroids affects your health, you need to deal with them. The following conditions are generally considered to require treatment: (1) the presence of excessive menstruation and ineffective medication; (2) significant pressure symptoms; (3) large fibroids (uterus is the size of a 2-month pregnancy or more); (4) small fibroids but the patient is under psychological stress and requires treatment. There are more treatment methods for fibroids, in general, there are five types: surgery, medication, HIFU, radiofrequency treatment, and interventional treatment. Interventional treatment has been used in clinical practice for more than 10 years and is the main method for treating uterine fibroids in western developed countries with definite efficacy. The main procedure is uterine artery embolization (UAE), which involves cutting a small hole the size of a grain of rice at the root of one thigh, inserting a special catheter into the blood supply artery of the fibroid and applying an embolic agent to block the blood supply to the fibroid to “starve” the fibroid. The procedure takes less time, as little as 30 minutes, and can be completed in about an hour. The procedure is done under anesthesia, so it is painless. Post-operative reactions are mild, mainly a slight transient pain in the lower abdomen and a low fever, which are normal reactions after the intervention and can be treated symptomatically. There is no special requirement after the operation, usually you can eat 6 hours after the operation, and you can move freely in 24 hours; you can be discharged from the hospital in 3-5 days, and you can go to work normally in 7-10 days after rest. The fibroids appear necrotic after interventional treatment, so there is no problem of recurrence. After ten years of observation, interventional treatment of uterine fibroids has been a mature technology with better clinical results. The method does not require opening and removal of the uterus, preserving the function of the uterus; few side effects and complications; fast recovery and precise efficacy; short hospital stay, and has become the preferred method to replace hysterectomy in the treatment of uterine fibroids abroad.