New Technology Treats Uterine Fibroids Without Surgery; Reduces Need for the 200,000-Plus Hysterectomies Performed Each Year in the U.S.

LOS ANGELES -- "A hysterectomy for fibroids is like killing a mosquito with a cannon-ball," said recent SonoWave patient Traci Werner. "So I did my research and instead of having my scheduled hysterectomy, I had two tumors ablated from my uterus with a new SonoWave procedure and was able to work the following day."

One in four American women will get uterine fibroids, the most common non-cancerous tumors in women of childbearing age. Symptoms include pain, bleeding and trouble getting pregnant. Until now, treatment options such as a hysterectomy or Uterine Artery Embolization were invasive and painful, requiring incisions, hospital stays and lengthy recovery times. Now, there's a new, less invasive and less painful treatment that has women back on their feet within just a couple of days. SonoWave, performed on an outpatient basis, combines MRI with focused ultrasound to destroy the benign but often debilitating and painful tumors.

"I was on my feet the very next day, and within 24 hours I felt like a new woman," said Elizabeth Brooks, another recent SonoWave patient. "I never believed the procedure would be this good, this simple or this fast after suffering for so long."

"Many women have chosen to suffer with the often painful side effects of fibroid tumors in order to avoid undergoing a hysterectomy," says Dr. Dennis Sarti, medical director of Beverly Radiology Medical Group. "SonoWave is a revolutionary marriage of two high-tech modalities which will change the future of medicine."

The next step for this technology is the treatment of inoperable tumors of the brain, bone and liver; ultimately, malignant tumors are the goal. Studies are underway. "Lives will indeed be saved," said Werner, "I feel so fortunate to have benefited from this revolutionary new technology."

Source: SonoWave