Fibroid symptoms don’t have to control your daily life. Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE) is a proven, image-guided treatment that shrinks fibroids without major surgery, long recovery, or removing your uterus.
At West Medical, our board-certified specialists deliver this advanced procedure with exceptional precision, safety, and comfort.
Uterine Artery Embolization is a minimally invasive treatment that targets the blood vessels feeding uterine fibroids. By blocking these vessels with tiny particles, fibroids lose their blood supply, shrink over time, and cause far fewer symptoms.
Most women experience relief from:
Unlike hysterectomy, UAE preserves the uterus, requires no large incisions, and allows most patients to return to normal activities within about a week.
Our approach is built around advanced imaging, meticulous technique, and your comfort. Here’s how the procedure unfolds, step by step.
When you arrive at our state-of-the-art center:
This ensures a smooth, anxiety-free experience from the start.
Your surgeon numbs the skin and creates a pin-sized entry point in the groin artery.
A slender catheter is gently inserted into the artery — the pathway for treating the fibroids.
Using real-time fluoroscopy (live X-ray imaging):
This allows your surgeon to deliver treatment with absolute precision.
This is the heart of the procedure.
Your surgeon slowly injects tiny particles — about the size of a grain of sand — into the arteries supplying the fibroids.
As the fibroids lose their blood supply, they begin to shrink.
A second arteriogram confirms the fibroid blood supply is fully blocked.
Only after perfect visualization is the catheter removed.
The access site is closed with gentle pressure or a closure device.
You then rest comfortably for several hours while monitored by our expert nursing team. Most patients go home the same day.
On average, UAE takes about two hours from start to finish.
During recovery, you may experience:
Most patients return to light activity in a few days and normal routines in about a week — far faster than hysterectomy recovery (4–6 weeks).
UAE treats fibroids at the source — their blood supply — without removing the uterus or disrupting surrounding organs.
Key advantages include:
Our approach blends innovation, safety, and compassion:
Your goals guide every decision we make — from consultation to long-term follow-up.
You may qualify if you have symptomatic fibroids causing heavy bleeding, pelvic pressure, pain, urinary frequency, or constipation — and prefer a minimally invasive alternative to surgery. A full evaluation, including imaging, is required.
Most women describe the sensation as intense menstrual cramps during the first several hours after the procedure. Medication and supportive care make this manageable. Discomfort typically improves quickly.
UAE preserves the uterus. Its impact on fertility varies and depends on age, fibroid size, and medical history. Your surgeon will discuss your family-planning goals in detail.
Most women resume light activities within a few days and full activities — including work — within about one week.
Shrinking begins immediately but continues over several weeks and months. Symptom relief often improves steadily during this time.
Risks are low when performed by experienced specialists but may include:
Groin bruising
Infection
Allergic reaction to contrast dye
Changes in menstrual patterns
Serious complications are rare. Your surgeon will review all risks and benefits
If fibroid symptoms are affecting your comfort, energy, or quality of life, minimally invasive treatment may be the solution you’ve been looking for.
4640 Lincoln Blvd.
Suite 718B
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
