Uterine fibroids are benign tumors that develop within the muscular wall of the uterus.  They are extremely common; 20-40 percent of women over the age of 35 have uterine fibroids and over 50 percent of African American women have fibroids.  They are the most frequent reason for hysterectomy in premenopausal women.  One third of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed annually within the United States are due to symptomatic fibroids.  There is a proven, minimally invasive alternative to hysterectomy for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids: uterine fibroid embolization (UFE).

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