Alterations in Vaginal Microbiota in Uterine Fibroids patients with Ultrasound-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign neoplasms of the uterus. High- intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is effective invasive treatment for fibroids in women who are not good surgical candidates. We aimed to investigate the vaginal microbiota of UF patients with/without HIFU treatment using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Vaginal secretions were collected from 77 UF patients (pre-operative and post-operative) and were used for comparative composition, diversity, and richness analyses of microbial communities.