Open AccessUterine Artery Embolization End Points and Collateral Circulation: Value of Intra-Procedural Non-Contrast Cone Beam CT
Author(s) -
Jaron Tepper,
Jacob Cynamon
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
medical research archives
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2375-1924
pISSN - 2375-1916
DOI - 10.18103/mra.v9i3.2352
Subject(s) - medicine , embolization , uterine artery embolization , collateral circulation , radiology , hysterectomy , uterine fibroids , uterus , blood supply , artery , cone beam ct , collateral , surgery , computed tomography , finance , economics
Uterine artery embolization (UAE) is a well-accepted treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids, but endpoints of UAE remain controversial. This is of significant concern as incomplete embolization can lead to treatment failure, necessitating repeat embolization or alternative treatments such as hysterectomy. Multiple potential causes of UAE failure have been described including failure to catheterize one or both of the uterine arteries, uterine artery spasm, clumping of embolic material and collateral blood supply vascularizing the fibroids. In this review, we discuss potential approaches to identifying collateral blood supply to the uterus and suggest that intra-procedural non-contrast cone beam CT provides unique advantages to addressing this issue.