Preliminary clinical observation on the treatment of adenomyosis by partial embolization of uterine artery with novel material combination: a case series

This study aims to investigate the efficacy of novel embolic materials in the treatment of adenomyosis via partial embolization of uterine arteries. From June 2023 to June 2025, we used gelatin sponge particles, liquid sclerosant, and temperature-sensitive liquid embolic agent to perform partial embolization of uterine arteries on 6 patients with adenomyosis who had failed to respond to other treatments. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to assess the degree of postoperative abdominal pain during hospitalization and the improvement of post-operative dysmenorrhea. To evaluate the recovery of menstrual function, data on changes in the number of sanitary pads/period pants used during menstruation and changes in the duration of menstrual periods were collected via questionnaires before and after UAE, while changes in hemoglobin levels and red blood cell counts were assessed through complete blood counts. Additionally, changes in uterine volume, maximal junctional zone thickness (JZmax), and minimal junctional zone thickness (JZmin) were assessed via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The Uterine Fibroid Symptom and Quality of Life (UFS-QOL) scale was employed to evaluate the patients’ symptoms and quality of life both pre-operatively and post-operatively. In patients with adenomyosis, UAE using gelatin sponge particles, liquid sclerosing agent, and temperature-sensitive liquid embolic agent can achieve favorable therapeutic effects. All patients showed significant improvement in their clinical symptoms, including reduced dysmenorrhea, shortened menstrual periods, and decreased menstrual flow (as evidenced by a marked reduction in the use of sanitary pads/period pants during menstruation). The junctional zone differential (JZdiff), JZmax, and uterine volume of all patients decreased. The UFS-QOL scores also indicated that patients’ symptoms had been significantly alleviated and their quality of life had substantially improved. Our research results emphasize the importance of embolic materials in UAE. Ideal embolic materials should be able to precisely embolize the feeding arteries of adenomyotic lesions and achieve good therapeutic effects without the need to embolize the main trunks or large branches of the uterine arteries.