Uterine fibroid embolization is a relatively new and controversial treatment for uterine fibroids, benign tumors that grow in or on a woman's uterus. This condition, which affects one in four women in the U.S., can cause pain, bleeding, fatigue and other symptoms. Until recently, the only effective treatment for fibroids was hysterectomy, or the surgical removal of the woman's uterus. But in the mid 1990s, some doctors began offering patients a new alternative: uterine fibroid embolization.

Embolization works by blocking the blood supply to the fibroid, causing it to shrink and become inactive. This is not exactly a new procedure. Physicians have used embolization to treat women with emergency uterine bleeding after childbirth or other traumas. What is new is its use in the treatment of fibroids. More than 8,000 such procedures have been performed in the U.S. since the mid 1990s. Uterine fibroid embolization is widely considered a safe and effective nonsurgical treatment for fibroids.

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Learn more about Uterine Fibroid Embolization at the Society of Cardiovascular & Interventional Radiology's website by clicking here.