Minimally Invasive Endovascular Management of Uterine Arteriovenous Malformations: A Single Center Experience and Case Series

TL;DR

This paper presents a minimally invasive treatment for rare uterine blood vessel abnormalities, showing successful outcomes without the need for major surgery.

Contribution

The study demonstrates the effectiveness of uterine artery embolization as a less invasive treatment for uterine arteriovenous malformations.

Findings

Uterine artery embolization was successfully used to treat three cases of uterine arteriovenous malformations.

The procedure resulted in satisfactory outcomes with no major complications and short hospital stays.

Computed tomography and angiography confirmed the diagnosis and guided the treatment.

Abstract

Uterine arteriovenous malformations (UAVMs) are rare and abnormal entanglements of uterine arteries and veins that are potentially fatal, requiring blood transfusions in about a third of cases. Although the optimal management of the condition is not well established in the literature, surgical hysterectomy is believed to be the only definitive treatment for arteriovenous malformations. We present three cases of UAVMs treated by a minimally invasive endovascular approach. Chief complaints were heavy menstrual bleeding and sudden onset heavy bleeding. The diagnosis was confirmed by computed tomography imaging and angiography of the pelvic vessels. Uterine artery embolization (UAE) was performed in all patients. The follow-up period was uneventful. In our experience, the UAE provides satisfactory results in terms of success rates, complications, and short hospital stays.

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