Objective
 Uterine fibroids are the most common benign gynecologic tumors. Uterine artery embolization (UAE) has become an important method of non-surgical treatment for symptomatic uterine fibroids.
Methods
A search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases to collect studies that compared UAE with MY for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids, with publication dates from database inception to April 2015. Two reviewers independently screened the studies and extracted the data. The meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software.
Results
A total of 12 studies involving 1339 patients were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that recovery time and length of stay were reduced for UAE compared with MY. In contrast, there were no significant differences in minor post-procedural complications within 1 year, major post-procedural complications within 1 year, patient satisfaction after 1-2 years of follow-up, the recurrence of fibroids, or the need for further interventions within 2 years of follow-up or in health-related quality of life (HR-QOL). However, for patients undergoing UAE, the serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) after the procedure were significantly higher. Both UAE and MY could preserve potential fertility, but MY was better than UAE in this respect.
Conclusions
Generally speaking, compared with MY, UAE is a safe and effective method for treating uterine fibroids. And UAE has the advantages of the shorter hospital stay and recovery time compared with surgery. However, UAE has a lower chance of success in women who plan to get pregnant.