Transcervical fibroid ablation, often performed using the Sonata System, is one of the newest tools in fibroid treatment. Transcervical fibroid ablation uses radiofrequency energy to destroy fibroid tissue, while preserving the uterus. “We use an ultrasound handpiece and enter through the vagina and cervix to deliver targeted energy to the fibroids,” says Catherine W. Chan, MD, a minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon at the Center for Fibroid Care.
Afterward, fibroids degenerate, slowly decreasing in size over months. Results can be long-lasting. In a study in the Journal of Gynecologic Surgery involving 147 women who had Sonata treatment, 94 percent were satisfied with the treatment and 88 percent reported reduced fibroid symptoms after 3 years.
Ablation is the treatment Cortes ultimately chose for her fibroids, which ranged in size from 2 to 10 centimeters. “After the procedure, I felt a little cramping, but that was it. I walked 8 miles the next day,” she says. “But even more importantly, it has given me a lot of hope for starting a family.”
The above text is an excerpt from NYU Langone Health NewsHub article, “Shrink Them, Zap Them, Starve Them: Newer, Minimally Invasive Fibroid Treatments Offer Hysterectomy Alternative”
PHOTO CREDIT: SEBASTIAN CONDREA/GETTY
