1. Will I be experiencing pain tonight and/or tomorrow after the treatment?
Most patients have no problems following the treatment. However, you might experience some lower abdominal pain similar to period pain which will last no more than a few days. This pain can be settled with a simple over-the –counter paracetamol.
2. Am I going to bleed in the immediate future as a result of the treatment?
No. The treatment itself should not cause you to bleed. As part of your fibroid/s has been treated, we anticipate that your period may deviate from normal. The first two cycles can be heavier than usual but should gradually lighten. If you received GNRH injections prior to the treatment, your first cycle should come back anytime between the 5th and 12th week from the last day of injection. It varies for every individual. Some patients may experience irregular periods following the treatment.
3. Can I go back to work the following day?
Yes. Provided that you feel you are capable of doing your duties. Please be reminded that the sedatives that you had may stay in your blood stream until the following day. Therefore, you are not allowed to drive and/or operate machinery for 24hrs as you might have episodes of drowsiness. We also advise you to avoid alcohol for 24hrs.
4. Can I do strenuous exercise after the treatment?
Yes. The treatment that you had is non-invasive which means there was no incision made in your abdomen. You will be able to go back to your normal daily routines as you desire following the treatment.
5. Are there any restrictions on sexual intercourse following the treatment?
No. But if you are trying to conceive, we recommend using a contraceptive method for the first three (3) months following the treatment. We are still learning about pregnancy post-MRgFUS and so recommend following the advice used with other fibroid treatments.
6. Will my fibroid disappear?
No. It is not possible to take your fibroid/s away without surgery. We anticipate 10-30% size reduction but it can be more or less than that over a period of time. The treated fibroid will gradually be absorbed by the body thereby creating shrinkage. The objective of the treatment is to improve your symptoms and it is entirely dependent on the nature of you fibroid/s. Remember that size reduction is not linked to symptomatic reduction so even if minimal shrinkage is obtained, you should still experience good symptomatic improvement.
7. Will my fibroid grow back again?
Generally the treated fibroid will not grow back again. However, some patients have experienced regrowth of the fibroid over time. The treatment is still quite new and therefore we are still learning from the experiences of those treated patients. The potential re-growth will depend on the nature of your fibroid/s, hormonal changes if you are close to menopause and genetic pre-disposition if you have family history of fibroids.
8. Will I have a new fibroid growth?
The only way to guarantee no future fibroid growth is through hysterectomy. As with other (non-hysterectomy) fibroid treatments, it is only possible for us to treat the fibroids that exist at the time of treatment. Having the procedure does not guarantee you will not develop fibroids in future. This depends on hormonal levels and family history.
9. Do I need to make a follow-up appointment ?
We recommend making a follow up appointment in six (6) months time from the date of your treatment. However, if your symptoms are progressing well and you are satisfied with the improvement then you do not need to make a follow up appointment. Likewise, you do not need to wait for six months to see your gynaecologist if your symptoms get worse.
10. Who shall I contact if I have query regarding my fibroid/s?
We would like you to contact your referring gynaecologist for all queries concerning your fibroid. This includes follow up appointments, medical advice and copies of clinical investigations.
11. What does NICE say about MRgFUS?
NICE has reviewed this treatment, and has recently issued new draft guidelines which have made some important changes to the provisional recommendations.
Please see here for the full document:
http://guidance.nice.org.uk/IPG231/DraftGuidance
Specifically:
"1.1 The evidence of efficacy in the short term is adequate [and] the procedure may be used with normal arrangements for clinical governance and audit."
This guidance is significantly different from NICE's 2007 comment that "1.1 Current evidence on the safety and efficacy of magnetic resonance image (MRI)-guided transcutaneous focused ultrasound for uterine fibroids is such that this procedure should only be used with special arrangements for consent and for audit or research."
NICE advises that there should be special arrangements for monitoring what happens after the procedure. We can confirm that these arrangements are in place at the MR Therapy Centre.
Please see
