Fibroid Awareness Month: What Women Should Know About Radiofrequency Ablation and Other Non-Surgical Options

July marks Fibroid Awareness Month, an annual reminder of a condition that affects a striking share of women yet still goes widely undiscussed. Uterine fibroids, non-cancerous growths that develop in or on the uterus, can cause heavy periods, pelvic pain, bloating, anemia, and fertility challenges. For generations, women with severe symptoms were told their main option was a hysterectomy. That is no longer the case, and one of the treatments drawing attention is uterine fibroid ablation, a procedure that uses targeted heat to shrink fibroids without removing the uterus.

How Radiofrequency Ablation Works

Radiofrequency ablation, or RFA, treats fibroids by delivering heat directly into the growth through small needles. The energy softens and shrinks the fibroid tissue, reducing its size and, with it, the symptoms it causes. There are two main approaches.

Laparoscopic RFA is performed through small incisions in the abdomen. A thin fiber-optic camera locates the fibroids, and a heated instrument is inserted into each one. The procedure requires general anesthesia and stitches, but most patients return to work within four or five days.

Transcervical RFA, often known by the brand name Sonata, uses nearly the same technique with one significant difference: no incisions at all. The device is guided through the cervix instead, which typically means a shorter and less painful recovery. It is also a newer option, having received FDA approval only recently.

What RFA Can and Cannot Do

It’s important for women to understand the limits. RFA is a volume-reduction procedure. It shrinks fibroids rather than eliminating them, and it works best on smaller growths. Larger fibroids, or those in certain locations, may not respond well.

The procedure also carries considerations for women who hope to become pregnant. Because research on pregnancy outcomes after RFA is still limited, it is generally not recommended for those planning to have children. And like any medical procedure, it comes with some risks, including infection, bleeding, and cramping in the days that follow.

The Bigger Picture: A Growing Menu of Uterus-Preserving Options

RFA is part of a broader shift in fibroid care away from major surgery. Another minimally invasive option, uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), takes a different approach entirely. Rather than heating the fibroid, a specialist inserts a tiny catheter through the wrist or thigh and blocks the arteries feeding the growth. Cut off from its blood supply, the fibroid shrinks and dies. UFE requires only light sedation and a small bandage, is performed in an outpatient setting, can treat fibroids of any size, and is roughly 90 percent effective at reducing or eliminating symptoms over time.

Which option is right depends on the size, number, and location of the fibroids, the severity of symptoms, and a woman’s plans for pregnancy. That decision belongs in a consultation with a fibroid specialist who can map the fibroids with imaging and walk through the trade-offs honestly.

Awareness Is the First Step

The most troubling statistic about fibroids isn’t about the condition itself. It’s how many women endure years of heavy bleeding, pain, and exhaustion because they assume nothing can be done short of losing their uterus. This Fibroid Awareness Month, the message worth spreading is simple: treatment has evolved. From radiofrequency ablation to embolization, women today have more uterus-preserving choices than ever before, and the sooner symptoms are evaluated, the more of those choices remain on the table.