Magnetic Resonance guided Focussed Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) is a revolutionary treatment method that has gained popularity over the past decade. It was FDA approved in 2004 and reached the Malaysian shores in 2009 when the first machine was installed at the University Malaya Medical Centre.

It has gained popularity as an alternative to medical and surgical intervention in the treatment of uterine fibroids. Initial studies have shown that it is fast becoming the method of choice for treatment of fibroids in patients who do not want surgery. However, there are certain criteria to suitability of patients that undergo this procedure. Not all patients with uterine fibroids can be treated with MRgFUS.

Recent studies have also shown promising results in treatment of adenomyosis. Patients who are not ‘ready’ to have surgery, but are symptomatic can actually alleviate their symptoms with MRgFUS. There have not been many long term studies regarding this, but available data has shown that some of these patients are symptom free for as long as one year.

Recently, MRgFUS has been used to ablate skeletal metastases, prostate cancer breast cancer and brain tumours, but these are still in their infancy and many studies are on-going. We believe that MRgFUS has revolutionized medicine and shows great promise as a new “surgical” option without surgery.