Pregnancy after uterine fibroid embolization: follow-up of 100 patients embolized using tris-acryl gelatin microspheres

ObjectiveTo evaluate pregnancies in women who had previously undergone uterine fibroid embolization.DesignProspective study.SettingA city hospital in Spain.Patient(s)A cohort of 100 uterine fibroid embolization patients, 57 of whom wished to preserve their fertility.Intervention(s)Uterine arteries were embolized by using 500–1,200 μm tris-acryl gelatin microspheres. After intervention, patient follow-up was performed at 1 week, 3 months, 6 months, and yearly.Main Outcome Measure(s)The number of pregnancies and course of pregnancy.Result(s)Eleven pregnancies in 10 women (19.2%). The pregnancies resulted in 8 live births, including 4 normal and 4 cesarean deliveries. Early miscarriage occurred in 3 cases (2 patients). None of the 8 newborns was a low–birth weight infant, and gestation lasted ≥37 weeks in all the patients, except for 1 case of a macrosomic fetus delivered at 33 weeks. There were no cases of abnormal placental implantation.Conclusion(s)Despite the small sample size, uterine artery embolization appears to be viable in young women who still want to become pregnant. Larger series and studies comparing uterine fibroid embolization and myomectomy are needed.