Dr. Bruce Lee, a California OB-GYN, has pioneered HALT, a revolutionary hysterectomy-alternative outpatient procedure to treat women with uterine fibroids. This new treatment has proven effective, less invasive and less costly than a hysterectomy, and now gives women another choice.

By the time most Caucasian women reach the age of 50, almost 70 percent have uterine fibroid tumors, and in African-American women, the percentage jumps to greater than 80. The American Medical Association reports that fibroids can range in size from small peas to melons and can occur on the inside and outside of the uterus. Fibroids are a result of the overgrowth of uterine muscle tissue, with most of them being non-cancerous.

Women who have uterine fibroids experience a multitude of problems, such as abdominal pain, heavy bleeding and severe cramping during menstruation, frequent urination, painful intercourse, and sometimes in severe cases, the appearance of pregnancy.

Dr. Lee's HALT procedure employs radiofrequency ablation, which has been used to treat cancerous lesions of the liver, bone and breast, and involves the use of high-frequency electrical currents to "destroy" the fibroid, which is then absorbed into the surrounding muscle. By inserting a laparoscope through the navel to evaluate the uterus, an intra-abdominal ultrasound is also performed to determine the size, location and number of fibroids. A needle, similar in size to one used in amniocentesis, is inserted into the tumor delivering electrical currents that cause the ions in the surrounding tissue to vibrate, thus creating frictional heating. The heat spreads throughout the tumor, thereby destroying it and leaving healthy tissue alone. The procedure requires the patient to undergo general anesthesia.

Dr. Lee has performed more than 170 HALT procedures at the Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center, with only 2 percent experiencing complications or needing repeat treatment. The outpatient procedure can take anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours to complete, depending on the size and number of fibroids. Patients are able to resume their normal activity within a few days, and often include sightseeing during their trip to the Central Coast. Many patients arrive on Wednesday, undergo HALT on Friday, and fly home as early as Sunday. Lee has treated patients who have come from as far away as the Philippines and Hawaii.

Dr. Lee has personally funded his research and purchased equipment needed in order to perform the surgery. He continues to lobby large insurance companies to cover this relatively unknown course of treatment that is highly effective and less costly, both to the patient and the insurance provider. The procedure is 1/4 to 1/3 the cost of a hysterectomy, which normally requires at least a three-day hospital stay, at an approximate cost of $25,000, which doesn't even include physician fees or the loss of pay during recovery.

"One of my patients was so afraid that she was going to have a hysterectomy, that she waited 26 years to find an alternative," said Dr. Lee. "Once she learned about what I could do for fibroids, she came to my office and talked with me about her previous fears. I was able to help her, without the need for major surgery and from that point on, her quality of life changed dramatically."

Women who have had the procedure are amazed and elated that their problems seem to disappear. The HALT procedure significantly reduces the need for a hysterectomy or other invasive procedures such as Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE), which requires x-rays for visualization, or a myomectomy, which requires surgically opening the abdomen and removing fibroids, often leaving tumors that can't be seen, therefore requiring additional surgery when fibroids eventually return.

"I was plagued with uterine fibroids since 1997, so my gynecologist suggested I have a hysterectomy. I didn't want one because I knew the recovery would be long and painful, I would risk vaginal damage and later have more problems concerning my bladder, bowel and pelvic organs," said Michelle Kroll, a HALT patient from Florida.

Dr. Lee has presented his research to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Association of Gynecologic Laproscopists, and at the Global Congress of Gynecologic Endoscopy in San Francisco on November 11, 2004.

For more information on the HALT procedure, you can call 831.649.1144 or visit www.haltfibroids.com.