Application of T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in assessment of uterine leiomyoma morphology after uterine artery embolisation

Paweł Bernat, Radosław Pietura, Małgorzata Szczerbo-Trojanowska

Summary
Objective: To evaluate the application of T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in assessment of uterine leiomyoma morphology after uterine artery embolisation.
Methods: Between November 2001 and January 2003 MR examination was performed on 110 patients. T1-weighted and T2-weighted spin-echo MR images were made through the pelvis in sagittal, tranverse, coronal planes before the procedure, and 3 months after. Fifty-eight % of leiomyomas gave an iso- or hyperintensive signal in T2-weighted imaging. The mean uterine volume was 496 cm³ and the mean volume of the dominant fibroid was 198 cm³. Leiomyoma was submucosal in 63% of patients, transmural in 13%, and subserosal in 24%.
Results: After 3 months, MRI showed the mean volume reduction of the dominant fibroid to be 57%, ranging from 36% to 89%, and of the uterus to be 41%, ranging from 30% to 73%. In T1-weighted MR images submucosal-expelling fibroids showed hyperintensive signal, and only long-term changes in morphology could have been observed. T2-weighted MR images were used in evaluation of volume reduction and the detailed morphology of the fibroids.
Conclusions: A T2-weighted MR sequence is an effective method for the assessment of the morphology of uterine leiomyoma, the T1-weighted sequence being used in imaging of submucosal – expelling fibroids.

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