Non spherical polyvinyl alcohol versus gelatin sponge particles for uterine artery embolization for symptomatic fibroids

Purpose: To compare clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes after uterine artery embolization (UAE) with non spherical polyvinyl alcohol (nPVA) versus gelatin sponge particles. Material and methods: During ten months, from Jan 2011 to Oct 2011, 60 patients underwent UAE in a standardized manner. nPVA (n = 30) or gelatin sponge particles (n = 30) were used in all patients. Pelvic MRI and clinical symptoms were reviewed before and after the procedure. Changes in tumor, uterine volume and infarction rate of dominant tumor were assessed using MRI. Result: At three months after embolization, the outcome data were collected. The improvement of the mean bleeding score was more pronounced with gelatin sponge particles than with nPVA particles (p = 0.035). The mean volume reduction rate and infarction rate of dominant fibroid were 47.9 ± 20.8%, 97.7 ± 5.2% and 60.2 ± 18.1, 96 ± 7.0% after UAE with nPVA compared to gelatin sponge particles, respectively. Conclusion: This study showed the superiority of gelatin sponge particles over nPVA in terms of improvement of mean bleeding score and volume reduction rate of dominant fibroid at three months follow-up after UAE, although the infarction rate of dominant fibroid was similar across groups at three months.