The Hindu : Front Page : New procedure for treating uterine fibroid-related infertility in women

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Sunday, Aug 17, 2008
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New procedure for treating uterine fibroid-related infertility in women

Special Correspondent

Madras Medical Mission is set to launch the method

CHENNAI: A new modality for treating uterine fibroid-related infertility in women will soon be available in Chennai.

Madras Medical Mission (MMM) is set to launch Magnetic Resonance (MR) focused ultrasound surgery, which is currently available at only a few institutions across the world, and in fact, none in south Asia.

The non-invasive procedure that is a convergence of MRI and the ultrasound provides infertility experts with a safe and effective alternative to radical surgery to remove the uterine fibroids that prevent conception.

The facility is likely to be commissioned at the hospital’s Institute of Reproductive Medicine by year-end.

Conventionally, uterine fibroids have been managed with long-term medication or been placed under the surgeon’s scalpel (myomectomy).

The MR focused intervention allows a three-dimensional survey and tracking of the uterine site and shrinking the fibroids using ultrasound beams with calibrated temperature settings. The results with the technique have been a vast improvement in treating women infertility patients presenting with a symptomatic fibroid, said R. Ravikumar, consultant interventional radiologist, who has been trained in the procedure.

“Importantly, the non-invasive procedure opens up an alternative to the surgical option that is bound to leave behind some scar tissue or trigger other complications that could potentially inhibit pregnancy,” said Thankam Varma, medical director, MMM. However, selecting the patients who are likely to benefit most with this procedure is important, she said.

“We could even think of the procedure as the first line of management in such patients,” said Isaac Manyonda, an expert from the United Kingdom who is a delegate to a three-day conference that began at MMM on Friday.

The MR focused ultrasound facility is likely to be introduced later in Bangalore and Hyderabad, said P. Ravindran, CEO of Rougecreek Scientific Inc, the Canadian firm that is bringing in the equipment here.

A discussion on the new procedure was one of the highlights of the eighth international conference on developments in obstetrics, sub-fertility and gynaecology.

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