Embolization of uterine fibroids beats surgery

Lower costs, speedier recovery, and reduced pain give uterine artery embolization an edge over surgery for fibroid treatment, according to a multicenter trial that examined the relative merits of the two methods.

Researchers in the Randomized Trial of Embolization versus Surgical Treatment for Fibroids (REST), including 27 U.K. hospitals, assessed quality of life up to one year post-treatment for 157 women involved in the study who had been randomized to embolization or surgery (hysterectomy or myoectomy). They found that women who had embolization-costing about $1700 less than surgery-reported significantly less pain after their procedures, had much shorter hospital stays, were able to return to work and other activities more quickly, and had fewer post-treatment major adverse events than those who underwent surgery (NEJM 2007;356[4]:360-370).