Clinical Consideration of Treatment to Ablate Uterine Fibroids with Magnetic Resonance Imaging-guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS): Sonalleve.
OBJECTIVE
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided high intensity focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) is a newly emerging non-invasive technique for the treatment of uterine fibroids. The purpose of this study is to review the clinical impact of MRgFUS.


METHODS
This study examined 157 patients. The high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) utilized in this study was Philips Achieva 1.5 Tesla MR (Philips Healthcare, Best, the Netherlands) and Sonalleve HIFU system. The patients were followed in post-operative Month 1, Month 3, and Month 6 to investigate any change. Then, these were further classified according to the use of uterine stimulant (oxytocin) in parallel, Funaki Type of uterine fibroid, HIFU intensity, and non-perfused volume (NPV) ratio.


RESULTS
When the uterine stimulant was utilized, the HIFU intensity was measured at significantly lower levels, compared with the group not using uterine stimulant, and treatment duration was significantly. The NPV ratio was found significantly higher in the group using uterine stimulant. Concerning the correlation between Funaki Type of uterine fibroid and average sonication power, it was found that the closer to Type I, the lower the sonication power, the shorter the treatment duration, and the higher the NPV ratio significantly.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, it was found that the lower the Funaki Types of uterine fibroids, and the higher the NPV ratio immediately after the operation, the larger the uterine fibroid volume decrease and SSS change were. Also, if uterine stimulant was used in parallel in treatment, treatment duration and HIFU intensity could become shorter and lower.
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Hwa Myung Il Sin Christian Hospital, Busan, Korea.
Jae-Hyeok
JH
Jeong
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Hwa Myung Il Sin Christian Hospital, Busan, Korea.
Gil Pyo
GP
Hong
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Hwa Myung Il Sin Christian Hospital, Busan, Korea.
Yu-Ri
YR
Kim
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Hwa Myung Il Sin Christian Hospital, Busan, Korea.
Jae-Eun
JE
Ha
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Kyu-Sup
KS
Lee
High-intensity focused ultrasound ablation; Leiomyoma; Myoma; Oxytocin