Since the 1950s, hysterectomy has been widely used clinically as a routine procedure for the surgical treatment of uterine fibroids. In the United States, 40% of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed each year are due to fibroids; in China, where the population base is much larger than that of the United States, there are approximately 2.8 million total hysterectomies performed each year, more than half of which are due to fibroids. Removal of the uterus is equivalent to stopping the growth of fibroids at the source and eliminating the worry of future recurrence and malignancy, which is called “radical” treatment of fibroids.
However, the loss of the uterus, a unique female organ, brings physiological and psychological trauma to the patient as well, especially in today’s world of higher quality of life requirements. In recent years, the role of the uterus for women has become more than just “conceiving a fetus and reproducing offspring”, with the following benefits.
(1) The role of the uterus in maintaining the anatomical function of the female pelvic floor organs and preventing pelvic organ bulge. Clinical studies have shown that removal of the uterus, bulging of the posterior vaginal wall and excessive descent of the pelvic floor can cause defecation dysfunction in women; severance of the uterine ligaments and destruction of the parametrial tissues can result in impaired innervation of the bladder and rectum and may alter the overall structure and physiology of the pelvic floor.
(2) Hysterectomy may cause a decrease in the blood supply to the ovaries, which in turn may affect ovarian function.
(3) The uterus has an endocrine role. The endometrium secretes prostaglandins, prolactin, and a variety of substances such as insulin-like growth factor and epithelial growth factor; at the same time, the endometrium is rich in estrogen and progesterone receptors, which play a significant role in achieving endocrine regulation of the hypothalamus, pituitary, ovarian, and uterine systems.
(4) The role of uterine nerve transmission in maintaining the female sexual reflex arc is of interest.
(5) The psycho-spiritual impact of hysterectomy on women and the risk of surgical damage to the vesicoureter cannot be ignored. In view of this, the choice of hysterectomy for uterine fibroids should be weighed against the advantages and disadvantages of organ preservation and clear indications. Suitable options for hysterectomy are: (1) rapid growth of perimenopausal fibroids with suspected malignancy; (2) continued growth of fibroids after menopause; (3) malignancy of fibroids; (4) multiple fibroids without fertility requirements, large size and associated clinical symptoms, and cancer-phobic patients who require resection.
Clinical advantages
Effectiveness
The device uses ultrasound as the source of treatment, effectively utilizing the physical characteristics of ultrasound such as good directionality, penetration and focusability in biological tissues, gathering ultrasound energy to form a focal point through physical focusing (similar to the principle of generating huge energy at the focal point by focusing sunlight on the sun), generating transient high temperature in the target area through precise positioning, destroying fibroid cells in vitro and causing complete coagulation necrosis of fibroids. After the treatment, the fibroids will stop growing and gradually shrink and be absorbed by the body.
Safety
The equipment adopts ultrasonic monitoring for real-time positioning of fibroids, real-time monitoring of treatment, digital judgment of efficacy and feedback of treatment dose, which ensures effective killing of fibroid cells without damaging surrounding normal tissues; mostly one-time treatment or limited treatment for 2-3 times, treatment can be realized under the conditions of no incision, no bleeding, little patient pain and no anesthesia. Post-operative recovery is fast, and patients can get out of bed after treatment.
Preservation of organs and functions
The device can accurately destroy the fibroid tissue from outside the body without incision or bleeding, protect as much normal tissue as possible, preserve the integrity of the gonadal axis and the function of the target organs of patients with uterine fibroids, make it possible for women of childbearing age to preserve their reproductive function, and reduce the psychological shadow and pain of patients.
Non-invasive and less side effects
High-intensity ultrasound focused ablation technique is a non-invasive treatment outside the body. It does not require blood transfusion during treatment and avoids the occurrence of blood-borne infectious diseases (such as hepatitis B, AIDS, etc.). The patient recovers quickly after treatment, and there is no surgical scar, especially for the old and frail or patients with obvious contraindications to surgery, without the side effects and complications caused by surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Non-toxic and harmless
Diagnostic ultrasound is known to be a very safe examination method that is virtually harmless to the human body and can even be used to examine fetuses. Ultrasound focused ablation technology also uses ultrasound as the treatment source, which has no radioactive damage, no effect on ovarian function, and no effect on medical personnel and working environment.
It can increase the patient’s anti-tumor immune function
The heat-cured myoma tissue is absorbed by the surrounding normal tissues, and it can stimulate the body’s active immune mechanism.
High comfort
The top-mounted ultrasound transmitter allows patients to lie on their backs freely, changing the previous treatment method of patients lying prone and immersed in water, so that patients can receive treatment in a relaxed and comfortable state.
Easy to operate
With the support of advanced computerized treatment planning software, the computer automatically completes all operations from lesion localization, determining the treatment plan to starting treatment.
In the clinical verification, it was found that the local pain of patients during the treatment process of Pro Ultrasound Focused Uterine Fibroid Treatment System is significantly lower than other similar devices, which proves the practical effect of this technological innovation. It is known as “green treatment project”.