Exact Answer: 3 Months

Medical science has evolved a lot in recent years. Many diseases and injuries got the cure and are curable now, including even the UFE or the uterine artery embolization, a disease caused in the uterus. 

Before the cure was available for the UFE, the women were left in the dust that causes many problems like irregular menstruation cycle. Many women became infertile due to the expansion of the fibroids in the uterus causes swelling in the fallopian tube.

But as medical science has developed, the surgery that is the UFE is carried out to stop the blood to the fibroids by introducing plastic.

How Long for Fibroids to Shrink After UFE

How Long for the Fibroids to Shrink After the UFE?

The UFE is not a single procedure but is carried out in steps, and the surgery can last up from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, depending upon the situation of the fibroids.

First, the doctor injects the anesthesia into the body to numb the pain and put the person in the unconscious state, so they don’t feel the pain. Second, the doctor cuts the skin or makes incisions in the pelvic area to expose the artery that carries the blood to the fibroids.

Third, the doctor injects iodine into the artery that makes it more visible onto the monitor to avoid any problem; the iodine helps inject the plastic and gelatine into both arteries just by making one incision and avoiding exposing both the artery.

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Fourth, after checking both the arteries onto the monitor and tracking their way after that, the doctor injects small pieces of plastic to stop the blood flow toward the fibroids by filling the opening.

The blood flow doesn’t stop at the very point of time and takes time to shrink after shrinking. The blood stops flowing toward the fibroids.

The UFE is not a very safe procedure as it can cause infection in the pelvic area and the arteries; after the UFE is Carried out, it can also cause irregularity in the menstruation cycle, and fertility chances decrease to some extent in the following months.

Size of the FibroidsRecovery Time
Small1 month
Medium2 months
Large3 months
The fibroid’s size is determined medically.

Why Does it Take so Long for the Fibroids to Shrink After the UFE?

The UFE is carried out to stop the blood flow towards the fibroids by shrinking them to the minimum scale, and the shrinking of fibroids is not an instant procedure. Still, the fibroids can shrink and depend upon two significant factors: the size of the fibroids and the person’s age.

The size of fibroids plays a primary reason as the fibroids where the blood flow has to be stopped operated by injecting iodine and plastic, if the diameter of the fibroids is large then the time taken to shrink them can take a very long time. 

But if the fibroids diameter is minor, then the time to shrink them reduces, and recovery is fast.

The second factor, where age plays a vital role as a young woman, will take less time to recover as her body is more active. The body can get used to the foreign substances that have been introduced in the body, but an aged woman’s fibroid will take more time to shrink as her body is slow and cannot adapt immediately to the foreign objects.

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After the fibroids shrink back, the blood stops flowing, and the woman can return to her everyday activities, and the chance of infection in the uterus also decreases.

After the surgery and the fibroids going back to their standard size, the cycle becomes regular, and fertility chances also go back to the original ratio.

Conclusion

The UFE is carried out to stop the blood flow towards the fibroids by shrinking them to the minimum scale, and the shrinking of fibroids is not an instant procedure.

The fibroids are getting back regularly depends upon the majority of two factors: the diameter of the fibroids and the age of the women because the factors are interrelated. 

After the surgery, the cycle becomes irregular and can cause infection in the pelvic area as the body might not adapt to the new foreign material.

After the fibroids shrink back, the pain decrease, the itching goes away, and the woman can carry out her everyday activities.

References

  1. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=00296570&AN=45197176&h=YCjD%2FuKmR165Qt0XjO%2Beh%2FeZSmFY8CbC6GEPUm%2FjB4vHiFzZEgda3Yf%2B1%2Bq9u196yGdjYnDeyq3YKYdeuyGFqA%3D%3D&crl=c
  2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00270-014-1045-4