Painless Uterine Fibroid Removal Possible

Called MR-guided focused ultrasound ablation (MRgFUS), the procedure involves no cuts, no down time and none of the usual risks associated with surgery. Rather, it makes use of heat generated from ultrasound to burn away fibroids, which are abnormal masses of muscular tissue.

“This procedure has two parts to it. The first step is to find out exactly where the abnormalities are in order to mark out the treatment areas. This will be done through Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI.

“The next step is to direct the ultrasound machine at these problematic spots and systematically destroy them,” says Dr Ong Chiou Li, Senior Consultant Radiologist at KKH’s Diagnostic Imaging Department.

“The only important thing is that patients must remain still throughout, and that may be difficult for some because the entire process can take three to four hours, depending on the size of the fibroids,” she adds.