Myomectomy for intravenous leiomyomatosis: a retrospective series of 9 cases.

The current study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients with intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVL) who underwent myomectomy. Clinical data were retrieved from our database from January 2001 to October 2018. Of 197 patients with IVL, 9 (4.6%) patients were included. The patients' age ranged from 24 to 46 (mean: 31.1 ± 7.3) years. Five (55.6%) patients had not yet given birth upon IVL diagnosis. Three patients were treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists after surgery. The average follow-up time was 58.9 ± 27.8 (range: 29-122) months. Four patients presented with new uterine masses during follow-up. Three patients had natural pregnancies and live births. This information may provide a glimmer of hope to young patients with uterus-confined IVL who have fertility desires. However, future multicenter studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are warranted.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? The best treatment options for intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVL) are hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and complete resection of intravenous extensions of the disease.What the results of this study add? Nine patients with IVL underwent myomectomy. After a mean follow-up period of 58.9 ± 27.8 months, 3 patients had natural pregnancies and live births.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? The result might provide a glimmer of hope to young patients with uterus-confined IVL who have fertility desires.