High-intensity focused ultrasound of uterine fibroids and adenomyosis: maneuver technique for bowel loops located inside the treatment window

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Appearance of bowel loops in the sonication beam path during high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation therapy is a problematic condition. Filling bladder, filling rectum and, emptying bladder (BRB) maneuver technique might be helpful in producing a non-bowel treatment window for HIFU ablation of uterine fibroids and adenomyosis and ensuring the safety profile for patients. Uterine fibroids and adenomyosis are two commonly gynecological benign tumors negatively affected women’s health [1,2]. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a promisingly alternative treatment to conventional surgery and is increasingly worldwide used because of its completely non-invasive method [3-6]. During the ablation procedure, appearance of bowel loops inside the treatment window was generally problematic because hard elements and air bubbles inside bowel loops absorb and reflect ultrasound energy caused unpredictable thermal injury even bowel perforation [7,8]. Thus, in this concise communication, we aimed to introduce the filling bladder, filling rectum, and emptying bladder (BRB) technique for manipulating bowel loops out of the treatment window in order to establish the safety profile for patients