Does the doctor's experience make a difference in embolization?

It definitely does. As in every treatment in medicine, both the knowledge and experience of the doctor performing the procedure and the interest and experience of the staff following up the patient are of great importance in uterine fibroid embolization. Fibroid embolization performed by an experienced team has the following advantages. ​

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1. Embolization will be more effective. An experienced physician can detect the uterine vessels more easily during embolization and has easier access with the catheter. This can avoid and solve problems such as spasm, dissection, which may reduce the effect of embolization. If fibroids are also fed by extrauterine vessels, such as ovarian vessels, they can be noticed and treated completely in the same session. ​ ​

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2. Embolization will be made tailored to the patient. Each patient's expectation from embolization may be different. In some patients, there are severe complaints and there is no expectation of pregnancy. In some patients, the complaints are mild, but they definitely want to have a child. In some patients, both complaints are high and pregnancy is desired. The embolization technique to be applied in these patient groups should not be the same, it should vary according to the patient's expectation as well as the size, number and location of the fibroids. An experienced doctor will adjust the procedure technique and the type and amount of materials to be used to provide maximum benefit and minimum risk for each patient. ​ ​

 

3. The process takes less time. If performed by an experienced team, embolization is usually completed within an hour at the latest. The patient may talk to the doctor and staff or sleep comfortably during this time. ​ ​

 

4. You will feel much less pain. The experience of the doctor and the team largely determines the pain that the patient will feel. We can reduce the patient's pain by 80-90% by administering appropriate drugs before the procedure, blocking the hypogastric nerve during the procedure, and administering adequate doses of drugs at appropriate intervals after embolization.

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5. You get less radiation. Embolization is done on fluoroscopy equipment that uses x-rays, and you get a small amount of radiation. The dose of radiation received directly depends on the experience of the physician. An experienced physician uses fluoroscopy very little during embolization. It is very important to keep the radiation dose to a minimum, as most fibroid patients are in reproductive age and the x-ray is exposed directly to the uterus-ovary region.