UFE Outcomes and Success Rates: Relieving Symptoms and Preserving Fertility

Many women with uterine fibroids are searching for a way to get their lives back without undergoing major surgery. It’s natural to have questions about UFE outcomes, especially if you’re hoping to relieve your symptoms and still preserve your ability to have children in the future.

Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE)—also called uterine artery embolization (UAE)—is a minimally invasive procedure designed to block blood flow to uterine fibroids, causing them to shrink over time. A tiny catheter is inserted through your wrist and guided to the uterine arteries—no general anesthesia or long hospital stay required.

UFE is a safe, outpatient alternative to more invasive fibroid treatment options like abdominal hysterectomy, and many women report dramatic relief from fibroid symptoms within weeks.

Symptom Relief

If you’re unsure whether what you’re feeling is related to fibroids, here are some of the most common fibroid symptoms women report:

Heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding
Severe pelvic pain or pressure
Frequent urination or difficulty emptying the bladder
Constipation or bloating
Pain during sex
Lower back or leg pain
Abdominal swelling or visible bloating
Difficulty becoming or staying pregnant

Uterine fibroid embolization has shown consistently strong results when it comes to relieving these symptoms. In fact, medical studies show that around 90% of patients report significant relief from their fibroid-related symptoms after undergoing UFE. Most patients begin noticing improvement within the first few weeks.

Fibroid Shrinkage

If you’re hoping to shrink fibroids without surgery, uterine fibroid embolization makes it possible. After the procedure, the targeted fibroids lose their blood flow, which causes them to gradually shrink and soften over time. Most patients start noticing physical changes like reduced abdominal pressure or bloating within a few weeks.

Some controlled clinical trials show that fibroids shrink in size by 42% to 83% within six months after fibroid embolization. Some studies have even shown up to a 93% reduction in total fibroid volume one year after the procedure. These results are especially promising for women with multiple or large uterine fibroids, offering an effective treatment that supports a faster recovery without the major complications of surgical removal.

Recurrence Rates

One of the biggest questions women ask when considering uterine fibroid embolization is: Will my fibroids come back? The good news is that fibroid embolization doesn’t just shrink existing fibroids. It also treats all detectable uterine fibroids by blocking the blood vessels that feed them, which significantly lowers the recurrence rate.

The recurrent rate for fibroid embolization is extremely low, with randomized controlled trials showing a risk as low as 5% up to around 14%. That means that over 85% of women experience complete success with no return of severe fibroid symptoms or additional procedures required.

Uterine fibroid embolization offers long-term clinical outcomes compared to other non-surgical and surgical treatments. So it’s a dependable option for managing symptomatic uterine fibroids without frequent relapses.

Fertility After UFE

If you’re hoping to grow your family in the future, it’s natural to wonder whether uterine fibroid embolization will affect your ability to conceive. While fibroid embolization does involve blocking blood flow to the uterine arteries, the procedure only targets the arteries feeding the fibroids, not the areas responsible for ovarian or uterine function. So many women have gone on to have healthy pregnancies after UFE.

While UFE isn’t a fertility treatment, it can preserve the uterus and has enabled many women to have successful pregnancies afterward. It’s an important option for women looking to avoid hysterectomy while still maintaining their fertility potential. If preserving your uterus matters to you, UFE is a minimally invasive procedure worth considering.

Ready to Take the Next Step Toward Relief?

At VIP Fibroid Center, we understand what you’re going through, and we’re here to make sure you feel informed, confident, and supported every step of the way. With our highly trained interventional radiologists, spa-like setting, and compassionate care, you’ll never feel like just another patient. You’ll feel seen, heard, and respected—because that’s what you deserve.