What you can expect

Before the procedure

Focused ultrasound surgery is performed as an outpatient procedure in an MRI scanning room. You may be asked to fast for hours before the procedure.

Shortly before the procedure begins, you'll have:

• An intravenous line placed in one of your veins to inject contrast material for MRI and to give you medication for relaxation and pain
• Special stockings to prevent blood clots put on your legs
• A urinary catheter inserted into your bladder to keep the bladder stable during your treatment and improve visibility of the uterus

During your treatment, MRI allows doctors to evaluate the effects and define areas that need additional treatment.

During the procedure

Treatment time varies, depending on the size and number of fibroids you have, though you can expect it to take around three hours. Here's what happens during the procedure:

• You'll lie on your stomach on a movable table that slides into the opening of the MRI scanner. A doctor will monitor you from an adjoining room and can talk to you and hear you by microphone.
• Using focused ultrasound waves (sonications), each portion of the fibroid is heated. MRI is used to monitor tissue temperature and determine if the fibroid has been heated enough to achieve the desired results. The process is repeated until most of the fibroid has reached a temperature that should destroy the tissue.
• Each sonication lasts approximately 12 to 30 seconds, and then there is a 45- to 90-second rest period to let the tissue cool down. It usually takes 50 or more sonications during a treatment session to destroy a fibroid. However, depending on the size and number of fibroids you have, more sonications or a second treatment may be necessary.
• Throughout the treatment, you'll be asked about your level of discomfort so that your medication can be adjusted or other necessary changes can be made.

After the procedure

You'll need a friend or family member to drive you to and from your treatment, and to stay with you at least five hours after the procedure due to the medications you receive during treatment.

You can usually resume your normal daily activities within a day of the procedure. Over-the-counter pain-relieving drugs, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, can be used to treat any discomfort.