Patient experiences with a multidisciplinary fibroid program

During a poster presentation at AAGL’s 51st Global Congress on MIGS, Kelsey Musselman, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Weill Cornell Medicine, discussed her research regarding patient experiences with fibroid management before and after consultation at a multidisciplinary fibroid center.

Uterine fibroids are common benign tumors associated with significant morbidity and lower quality of life in symptomatic patients. Although medical, interventional, and surgical treatments have grown, many women are not provided with adequate counseling about treatment options.

For the study, Musselman and her team conducted a prospective survey-based descriptive study to evaluate patient experience with fibroid management options before and after consultation at a multidisciplinary fibroid center, which included minimally invasive gynecologic surgery (MIGS) and interventional radiology (IR). Investigators included patients who presented for initial consultation within the fibroid program from July 2021 through January 2022. Patients were offered same-day office consultation with MIGS, followed by a telemedicine visit with IR within 3 weeks of consult request.

Providers, Musselman noted, engaged in collaborative discussions to provide well-rounded consultation. Next, patients were asked to complete a survey following both appointments, and data were collected and included patient demographics, prior evaluation of fibroids, knowledge of treatment options, and overall experience.

In total, 102 patients completed the survey, with a response rate of 77%. More than half of respondents (55%) had known about their fibroids for at least 2 years. Most patients sought out the fibroid program for a second, third, or fourth opinion. Musselman noted that 35.3% of patients who had previously been seen by a gynecologist were not offered treatment. Of those who had been offered treatment, 24.5% were counseled on medical management via oral contraceptives, 28.4% on surgical options, and 5.9% on uterine artery embolization. Nearly all patients (86.3%) included in the study said that they would not have sought out 2 separate consultations had it not been for the program. Most of the patients (95.1%) reported feeling more knowledgeable about their options, and no patients reported that the consults created more confusion.

Reference

Musselman, K. Patient Experiences with a Multidisciplinary Fibroid Program. Presented at: AAGL’s 51st Global Congress on MIGS; December 2, 2022; Aurora, Colorado.