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Real Alternatives to Surgery
December 31, 2007
Individuals with heart disease who require major corrective surgery now have options for more mini- mal intervention. In many cases, the chest need not be opened at all, and robotic instruments can repair or replace the diseased valves or blocked arteries. Nonsurgical treatments also are being used for uterine fibroids, which are very common and often cause pelvic pain, urinary problems and vaginal bleeding. For years, the only way to remove these fibroids was by a hysterectomy. But today, more and more women are undergoing uterine artery embolization, in which a plug is inserted into the arteries that supply the fibroids, cutting off the blood flow. This results in the fibroids shrinking and withering away.