Doctors

Gynecologists Who Refer Patients for Uterine Fibroid Embolization

Many gynecologists are now advertising that they refer patients for Uterine Fibroid Embolization when, in fact, they do not. In order to protect yourself from this kind of unscrupulous medical behavior, I recommend the following questions be asked of him/her when arranging your first appointment:

How many women have you referred for UFE?
How many women that you referred actually chose UFE?
What is the name of the interventional radiologist that you've used for referral?

Be sure to get the name of the hospital and the phone number of the interventional radiologist from the gynecologist (or his/her staff) and then CALL the interventional radiologist to verify the information that was given to you. Find out what, exactly, the experience has been of the interventional radiologist with the specific gynecologist. You will need to know what kind of support and communication you can expect from both parties should you choose to proceed with uterine fibroid embolization. If you find that the interventional radiologist has never even heard your gynecologist's name previously and hasn't received any referrals from him/her, you might find this a good time to ask for a referral to a gynecologist that the interventional radiologist DOES know.

In checking on several prominent gynecologists who have indicated (online or in advertisting) that they refer patients for UFE, I have discovered that reality is a very ugly thing. Once women make appointments and meet with the gynecologist, their particular circumstances seem to exclude them from being good candidates for UFE. Further checking has told me that those very gyns have NEVER actually referred a woman for UFE. But it makes good copy to say that they do, doesn't it? And it doesn't seem to hurt their business any either.

Of course, not every woman with uterine fibroids IS a good candidate for UFE. But, to ensure that you will receive fair and even representation of your options, it is a good idea to follow through on the suggestions presented here to simply eliminate the unscrupulous docs from your list.

If the gynecologist you are seeing has NEVER referred a woman for UFE but expresses to you that they would be willing to consider such a referral, ask them the name of the interventional radiologist that they think they would use for referral. Ask them if they have actually spoken to the specific interventional radiologist yet to determine, collaboratively, what selection criteria should be followed for referral. Communication between the gynecologist and the interventional radiologist must be set in motion BEFORE your first appointment or the likelihood that you will be wasting your time and money is very high.

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As gynecologists change their opinion of UFE and/or notify me that they would like their name added to this map, I will be happy to do so. If you are a patient recently referred for UFE and believe that your gynecologist gave you a fair and even representation of all of your available treatment options for your uterine fibroids, please let me know.

Perhaps, some day, the map won't be necessary.

Doctors

Gynecologists Who Refer Patients for Uterine Fibroid Embolization

Click on a doctor's name to launch a new browser window containing a website link or email addressed to the physician.

Perhaps, some day, the map won't be necessary.

Click on a doctor's name to launch a new browser window
containing a website link or email addressed to the physician.