SNUBH develops vaginal HIFU therapy device to treat uterine fibroids < Hospital < Article

Researchers at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) have developed the world's first vaginal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment device that cures uterine fibroids, the hospital said Tuesday.

Uterine fibroids are benign tumors formed by growing uterine muscle cells and are a common disease found in about 50 percent of women of childbearing age. The tumor can occur alone or in multiple sizes and varies in size.

While small fibroids do not have particular symptoms, large fibroids may affect menstruation or fertility. Large fibroids can lead to severe menstrual pain, excessive menstruation and deform the uterus, leading to infertility or repetitive miscarriage.

Hospitals treat the tumor by either surgical treatment or non-surgical treatment, and recently, HIFU treatment has become the most common method for non-surgical treatment.

"In terms of treatment, surgical treatment may be the most reliable method because the fibroids are physically removed, but if the fibroids are large in size or have multiple fibroids, the uterus often needs to be removed, requiring general anesthesia," the hospital said. "As it can cause functional disorders such as hormonal imbalance and infertility, the burden of surgical treatment is inevitable."

In contrast, the HIFU procedure collects high-intensity ultrasound into a single point and transmits it through the abdomen to cauterize uterine fibroids with heat, the hospital added.

The hospital stressed that since the treatment method does not require an open or incision process, the patient can receive the treatment with no bleeding or scars, and there is little concern about the burden and side effects caused by general anesthesia.

However, since all HIFU treatment devices developed to date transmit ultrasound through the abdomen, hospitals only had the option to perform surgical treatment when there is an intestine between the HIFU device and the fibroid.

To resolve such problems, the team, led by Professor Kim Ki-dong at the hospital, cooperated with a local ultrasound company to develop the world's first asphyxiation HIFU treatment device.

Afterward, the research team conducted vaginal HIFU treatment on 13 women with severe symptoms of uterine fibroids from 2017 to 2019, and analyzed the nonperfusion volume rate, improvement of symptoms, and side effects immediately after treatment.

The team confirmed a non-perfusion volume ratio of 76 percent, similar to that of the existing abdominal HIFU treatment. The degree of symptoms due to uterine fibroids also fell from 67 points to 33 points, and menstrual pain after the treatment also improved from 51 points to 21 points. It found no unusual side effects after treatment, proving the effectiveness of the treatment.

"The developed device allows treatment of uterine fibroids previously difficult to treat with abdominal HIFU devices," Professor Kim said. "There is also an advantage of reducing complications because the treatment range is set by focusing more precisely on the fibroid region, and cauterization of the fibroid fibroids is possible with using less energy."

The team expects that it will improve the quality of life by providing more diverse treatment options to women suffering from fibroids if it manages to prove the effectiveness of treatment through more extensive clinical trials in the future, Kim added.

European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology published the results of the study.

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