'Surgery' without knives or blood

Non-invasive surgery in gynecology, increasing the chance of becoming a mother for many women. Gynecological diseases such as uterine fibroids, endometriosis or even some types of cancer are increasingly common, becoming a major concern for women's reproductive health.

Doctor performs ultrasound and monitors pregnancy for pregnant woman after uterine fibroid treatment - Photo: BVCC

Many people face the risk of losing the chance to become mothers. High-intensity focused ultrasound (US-HIFU) technology has opened a new direction without surgery, with few complications, while still preserving the ability to become mothers for patients.

Finding Motherhood Again

Only three months after treating two uterine fibroids with high-intensity focused ultrasound without surgery, Ms. T. (30 years old) unexpectedly received the good news of a natural pregnancy.

Ms. T. discovered that she had uterine fibroids many years ago, the largest of which measured 46 x 44 x 34mm. Severe abdominal pain and prolonged menstrual cycles made her tired and uncomfortable. What was more worrying was that doctors warned that this was a high-risk factor leading to infertility, sterility or miscarriage. In fact, during her first pregnancy, she had to face a heartbreaking incident.

Not giving up hope, she went to Thien An Obstetrics Hospital (Hanoi). She was directly treated by Professor Nguyen Viet Tien - former Deputy Minister of Health , hospital director. In November 2024, she was treated for uterine fibroids using US-HIFU technique.

After one day of surgery, she was able to walk and do normal activities. A month later, the re-examination results showed that the nearly 5cm tumor had reduced in volume by more than 50%, and the symptoms of menstrual cramps had almost disappeared.

And in the third month, she was happy to receive the news that she was pregnant naturally, without any reproductive intervention. She is currently being monitored at the hospital, with an expected delivery date of December 2025.

Not only Ms. T., many other patients also found happiness thanks to this technique. Ms. H. (29 years old) had two large tumors in the uterine wall, and had a miscarriage at week 20, making her desire to become a mother even more painful.

After being treated with US-HIFU, Ms. H.'s health condition improved significantly. Just a short time after the intervention, she conceived naturally. By the end of July 2025, her pregnancy was developing healthily at week 20, marking an important turning point in her journey to motherhood.

"Surgery" without a knife

Dr. Nguyen Viet Tien believes that the most important thing is that the patient retains the uterus and the patient's ability to give birth is maintained. In the world , there are currently three main surgical methods: open surgery, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery and non-invasive methods using high-intensity focused ultrasound. In which, high-intensity focused ultrasound is considered a new invention, opening up many hopes for patients of modern medicine.

Compared to previous open surgery or laparoscopic surgery, the uterus must be incised. After removing the tumor, even if it is sutured, the uterine muscle is still weak. In some cases, when pregnant, the uterus enlarges and the incision site ruptures.

In contrast, when treating tumors with high-intensity focused ultrasound under ultrasound guidance (US-HIFU), it is performed without the use of deep anesthesia or a knife. During the treatment, the patient remains awake, does not bleed, is painless, and can be discharged the following day, or even on the same day.

The principle of this technique is based on the ability of ultrasound waves to penetrate and converge, focusing energy on the tumor, creating a temperature of up to 100°C, causing tumor cells to become necrotic, blood vessels to be destroyed, while surrounding healthy tissue is still preserved. The entire process is gentle, the patient does not bleed, does not leave scars and remains awake throughout the procedure.

"The tumor volume continues to decrease over time, and does not hinder pregnancy if the patient becomes pregnant. This is an outstanding advantage that traditional surgical methods find difficult to achieve," Dr. Tien stated.

Doctor Nguyen Viet Tien examines and consults a patient - Photo: BVCC

Applying high technology in diagnosis and treatment

"The successful implementation of US-HIFU technique is not only an important medical achievement but also demonstrates the determination of the medical industry in applying high technology to disease diagnosis and treatment.

US-HIFU technology is also a breakthrough, marking a change in tumor treatment in Vietnam, helping people easily access advanced techniques on par with the world's leading powers.

Instead of having to go abroad with expensive medical and travel costs, patients can receive care and treatment domestically at a much lower cost with equivalent treatment effectiveness.

Deputy Minister of Health TRAN VAN THUAN

Vietnam masters modern technology

From December 27, 2024, the Ministry of Health officially licensed the implementation of US-HIFU technology, making Vietnam the 43rd country in the world to apply this advanced technology. After nearly a year, there have been 300 cases treated with US-HIFU, all of which recovered quickly, with no complications recorded.

Notably, four patients have become pregnant naturally, and two patients have been successful thanks to in vitro fertilization embryo transfer - cases that are very difficult to perform with traditional surgery.

Non-invasive treatment of tumors with high intensity focused ultrasound under ultrasound guidance (US-HIFU) has a breakthrough effect in treating uterine fibroids, endometriosis, cesarean scar pregnancy, breast tumors... other benign and malignant tumors in soft tissue, liver, kidney, pancreas, bone, breast... However, there are still some cases that cannot be applied such as brain tumors, lung tumors with fluid and gas.

In particular, there have been four cases of natural pregnancies and two cases of successful in vitro fertilization embryo transfer and pregnancy. "These are all cases that are very difficult to treat tumors by open surgery or endoscopy. This opens up a new hope to help infertile patients have more options in the journey to find their sacred calling," said Dr. Tien.

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan also assessed that the application of US-HIFU high intensity focused ultrasound technology to treat tumors clearly demonstrates the continuous development of the country's medicine.

WILLOW

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phau-thuat-khong-dao-khong-mau-20251007225200764.htm