ABSTRACT
Since 1845, when Atlee carried out the first successful myomectomy, treatment of uterine leiomyomata has been, for all practical purposes, exclusively surgical. In spite of this, for more than a hundred years an array of strange modalities has also been attempted with purely anecdotal results.1 It was only during the second part of the twentieth century that a variety of medical regimens were proposed based on sci entific criteria, originally as alternatives to surgery and usually (after gaining additional clinical experience) as adjuvant therapy before or after surgery. It must be stressed that, although today a number of nonsurgical treatments are available for uterine leiomyomata, none has been shown to be of value in the patient desiring future fertility for whom myomectomy remains t
he standard of care, although uterine artery embolization seems promising.
