Randomised comparison of long and short vascular sheaths in reduction of the operator radiation exposure during uterine artery embolization.

Objective: To introduce a method in which a long sheath is used instead of the traditional short sheath, to reduce the radiation exposure of operators in uterine artery embolization (UAE). Methods: 52 patients undergoing UAE were randomly divided into two groups before the procedure: an 11-cm short sheath was used in Group A (n = 25), and a 45-cm-long sheath was used in Group B (n = 27); the 45-cm-long sheath was only partly inserted such that the hub of the sheath was approximately 34 cm caudal to the groin puncture site. All the procedures were standard bilateral UAE operations through unilateral approach. The other parameters of the two groups were kept the same, including the fluoroscopy conditions and the pelvic radiation field size. The thermoluminescent personal dosemeters were attached to the left wrist and left outer side of the thyroid collar of the operator during each operation. The radiation exposure of the operator, procedure duration and fluoroscopy time of each procedure were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using independent samples t-test. Results: The radiation exposure of both the left hand and thyroid of the operator was significantly reduced with the long sheath compared with the short sheath (89.5 +/- 7.2 mu Gy vs 186.7 +/- 12.6 mu Gy, p < 0.001, and 54.1 +/- 5.5 mu Gy vs 63.9 +/- 7.4 mu Gy, p < 0.001, respectively). No significant differences were found in the procedure duration and fluoroscopy time between the two groups (p > 0.1). Conclusion: Using a long sheath in UAE could significantly reduce the radiation exposure to the interventionists without extending the procedure duration or fluoroscopy time. Advances in knowledge: For the first time, we introduce a simple and convenient method to reduce the radiation exposure of the operator in the UAE procedure.