Real-time I-MR-imaging--guided cryoablation of uterine fibroids

In an ongoing prospective clinical trial, two patients with large, symptomatic uterine fibroids were treated with percutaneous magnetic resonance (MR)-imaging--guided cryoablation. Patients were followed with serial MR imaging studies and clinical evaluation according to Institutional Review Board protocol. Short-term imaging and clinical data were collected to assess the effects of the therapy. Both patients confirmed a significant reduction or elimination of their symptoms at 2 weeks after cryoablation. Measurements obtained from MR imaging performed after cryoablation documented a 65% and 53% reduction in each patient's fibroid volume at 8 weeks. Early clinical and imaging results confirm MR-imaging--guided cryoablation was effective at reducing or relieving these two patients' symptoms related to uterine fibroids and post-cryoablation imaging confirmed a significant reduction in fibroid volume.