Intraabdominal adhesions after uterine artery embolization

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate intraabdominal adhesions after uterine artery embolization (UAE). STUDY DESIGN: This was a case-control study of patients who underwent hysterectomy after UAE (UAE group) in the years 2000-2006. The control group consisted of patients who underwent hysterectomy for uterine myoma in the same week. RESULTS: We encountered 30 patients in the UAE group and 72 in the control group. The age of patients in the UAE group was 44.9 +/- 0.8 years and 44.6 +/- 0.6 years in the control group. In the UAE group, the diameter of the dominant myoma in patients with adhesions (11.3 +/- 1.9 cm) was larger than in those without adhesions (5.6 +/- 0.6 cm; P = .003; confidence interval, 1.9-8.5). The prevalence of adhesion in the UAE group (20%) was higher than in the control group (1.4%; P = .002; odds ratio, 17.2). CONCLUSION: UAE is associated with intraabdominal adhesion formation. Large myoma predisposes to adhesion formation.