Objective: To study the feasibility of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) for the evaluation of myoma uteri in Thai patients.

Materials and Methods: A prospective descriptive study was conducted between September 2020 and October 2021. Twenty-six myoma uteri patients were performed in a 3.0-Tesla MRI scanner, added with a pneumatic system generating mechanical waves. For the MRE assessment, the number of acquired slices, mean stiffness with standard deviation (SD), minimum, and maximum stiffnesses (kPa) were recorded.

Results: The mean stiffness of the myoma uteri was 3.02 kPa (range 1.83 to 5.06, SD 0.79). Their volume ranged from 56.24 to 716.35 cm³ (mean 237.74, SD 187.63. The proportion of lesions ranged from 31.87% to 74.36% of the whole uterus (mean 44.94, SD 16.98).

Conclusion: Uterine MRE is a feasible diagnostic tool for studying the tissue stiffness of the myoma uteri, which is higher than normal uterine tissue. The mean stiffness of Thai patient myoma uteri was lower than other ethnicities.

Keywords: Myoma uteri; Uterine fibroid; Uterine leiomyoma; MRE; Tissue stiffness

DOI: 10.35755/jmedassocthai.2023.03.13806

Received 25 July 2022 | Revised 20 January 2023 | Accepted 1 February 2023