"A minimally invasive treatment can help restore fertility in women with uterine fibroids according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Uterine fibroids abnormal masses of fiber and muscle tissue in the wall of the uterus are considered one of the most common causes of infertility and complications related to pregnancy. Previous research has found that one out of every four women with fibroids has problems related to fertility. The standard treatment option for such women is myomectomy or surgical removal of the fibroids.  However myomectomy is not always possible or effective and can result in major complications including hysterectomy according to study coauthor Joo Martins Pisco M.D. Ph.D. from the Department of Interventional Radiology at Saint Louis Hospital in Lisbon Portugal. Uterine fibroid embolization UFE is a less invasive option that involves injection of an embolic agent typically made up of very small beads into the uterine arteries to block the blood supply to the uterus and fibroids. As the fibroids die and begin to shrink the uterus fully recovers. UFE can be performed in patients with a prior myomectomy or in vitro fertilization IVF. Despite its less invasive nature UFE has yet to be fully embraced in the medical community as a fertilitypreserving treatment for women with symptomatic fibroids due to concerns that the procedure may cause inadequate blood flow to the endometrium or lining of the uterus and the ovaries.  For the new study Dr. Pisco and colleagues assessed pregnancy rates in  women with uterine fibroids who were unable to conceive and who underwent either conventional or partial UFE. In conventional UFE all uterine artery branches are embolized. However the partial procedure requires treatment of only the small vessels to the fibroids leaving the corresponding larger vessels unaffected. Partial UFE may help reduce the risks of infertility associated with conventional UFE.  After an average followup of almost six years  of the  women or . percent had become pregnant one or more times and  gave birth to a total of  babies. It was the first pregnancy for more than  percent of the women who gave birth. The procedures had a clinical success rate of approximately  percent for fibroidrelated symptoms. Complication rates were . percent for partial UFE and . percent for conventional UFE. The procedure was repeated in  patients whose fibroids had not been fully treated as shown by MRI and  of those patients subsequently got pregnant. Our findings show that UFE is a fertilityrestoring procedure in women with uterine fibroids who wish to conceive and pregnancy following UFE appears to be safe with low morbidity Dr. Pisco said. Women who had been unable to conceive had normal pregnancies after UFE and similar complication rates as the general population in spite of being in a highrisk group.  Dr. Pisco suggested that UFE may become the firstline treatment for women with fibroids who wish to conceive particularly for those with numerous or very large fibroids. Such patients have a fibroid recurrence rate of more than  percent after myomectomy making UFE an important option.  The researchers are continuing the treatments and compiling data. Since the time of writing there were  additional pregnancies. In our study there are now almost  newborns following UFE Dr. Pisco said. Our next step will be a randomized study comparing the results of partial and conventional UFE.  Spontaneous Pregnancy with a Live Birth after Conventional and Partial Uterine Fibroid Embolization. Collaborating with Dr. Pisco were Marisa Duarte M.D. Tiago Bilhim M.D. Ph.D. Jorge Branco M.D. Ph.D. Fernando Cirurgio M.D. Marcela Forjaz M.D. Lcia Fernandes M.D. Jos Pereira M.D. Nuno Costa M.D. Joana B. M. Pisco M.D. and Antnio G. Oliveira M.D. Ph.D. Radiology is edited by Herbert Y. Kressel M.D. Harvard Medical School Boston Mass. and owned and published by the Radiological Society of North America Inc. httppubs.rsna.orgjournalradiology RSNA is an association of over  radiologists radiation oncologists medical physicists and related scientists promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook Ill. RSNA.org httpRSNA.org For patientfriendly information on uterine fibroid embolization visit RadiologyInfo.org httpRadiologyInfo.org."