New, minimally invasive treatments for your patients with fibroids

If you have patients with symptomatic uterine fibroids, you know the toll that condition can take on their health and well-being: pressure or pain in the abdomen, worsening over time. Unusually heavy or lengthy periods that interfere with daily activities or work.

Now you can refer those patients to Novant Health physicians for new minimally invasive treatment that comes with faster recovery time and symptom-relieving results.

What are the new treatments for uterine fibroids?

Novant Health physicians are using Sonata and Acessa, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatments that differ on their point of entry to access the fibroids. Sonata uses a transvaginal and transcervical approach while Acessa uses very small abdominal incisions.

Fibroid ablation is a minimally invasive, incision-free outpatient procedure that treats some types of uterine fibroids depending on the size and location. Acessa and Sonata treatments can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the number and type of fibroids being treated.

The fibroid cell tissues die when they are heated, causing the fibroids to shrivel and shrink, then eventually be harmlessly absorbed by the healthy surrounding tissues. Most women experience the most symptom improvement within three months and continued improvement for the first year.

It's a big step from traditional treatments. Uterine fibroids are the most common cause of hysterectomy surgery, or removal of the uterus, with fibroids accounting for as many as half of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed in the U.S. each year.

RFA is a highly effective procedure. Some results:

• In a clinical study of women who received the Acessa procedure, 82% of women had lighter periods and 94% were satisfied with the procedure after 12 months.
• In a clinical study of women who received the Sonata procedure, 95% had lighter periods and 97% were satisfied with the procedure after 12 months.

Dr. Hillary Robinowitz-Elins performs the Acessa RFA procedure at Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center for patients of in north Charlotte. She said it’s effective at treating the two most common types of fibroids – intramural (within muscle of the uterus), and subserosal (right under the “skin” of the uterus). Acessa can also be combined with hysteroscopic myomectomy, called Myosure, for submucosal fibroids (fibroids pushing into or already in the uterine cavity). Acessa may also be combined with Novasure if a patient is not trying to preserve fertility. Trained physicians personalize treatments based on individual patient needs.

“Acessa provides more access as well as safer access to fibroids,” she said. “We also are avoiding painful uterine incisions, injury to normal uterine tissue, and avoiding a difficult recovery from traditional myomectomy.”

After Acessa, most women resume normal activities in three to five days. Combined with Myosure, the recovery period remains an average three to five days. After Sonata, most women resume normal activities in two to three days.