uterine muscle. Despite studies showing its effectiveness, many insurance companies still do not pay for embolization of adenomyosis.


Dr. Lipman hopes to change that. His research interests and passion for treating these conditions led him to donate a major gift to the SIR Foundation in 2023. His gift will support 4 years of funding for the SIR Foundation’s new Dr. Scott C. Goodwin Grant for Adenomyosis and 5 years of funding for the Dr. James B. Spies Global Summit on Uterine Fibroid and Adenomyosis Research.


“I don’t want to just talk about these things; I want to try to do something about it,” Dr. Lipman said. “UFE is one of the biggest medical breakthroughs for women, and yet, even though we’ve been doing it for 25 years or more now, it’s still relatively unknown.”


Building a practice culture and mission that values research will attract IRs who feel the same, Dr. Katzen said.


“It was pretty clear that we had to hire and cultivate people that wanted more out of their professional careers than just practicing medicine,” Dr. Katzen said. “Research is not for everybody, but the IRs we brought in knew what we were doing—they also knew that you had to do all that research on your own time. This has to do with the motivation of the individuals as much as anything else.”


Supporting research in other ways Not every practice is interested or able to launch a research program. But IRs can move the specialty forward in other ways, Dr. Lipman said, particularly through donating to the SIR Foundation to support research projects or participation in clinical registries.


Dr. Lipman became involved in private practice research in order to contribute to findings about fibroids and their treatment. Although he has performed more than 10,000 uterine fibroid embolizations (UFE) in his career, he said, “We don’t even know where fibroids come from.” There is a severe lack of funding for fibroid research, which affects women of color much more commonly than white women. African-American women are three


26 IRQ | SUMMER 2024


African-American women are


3X


more likely to develop uterine fibroids than white women, with roughly


80%


of African American women affected by age 50.


times more likely to develop uterine fibroids than white women, with roughly 80% of African-American women affected by age 50.


He said there also needs to be more research and insurance coverage for uterine embolization treatment for adenomyosis, a condition in which the lining grows into the underlying


Dr. Lipman’s previous community practice was part of the original SIR Foundation Fibroid Registry. “I thought that was important to participate in because we did a high volume of UFE,” he said. “While the practice didn’t benefit financially, I think they realized it was an honor to participate in that landmark multicenter trial as we were one of only 10 core sites chosen.”


Now, Dr. Lipman is working with the Outpatient Endovascular and Interventional Society (OEIS) to develop a UFE registry that will be part of a larger OEIS embolization registry. Similar to what happened with the fibroid registry, he’s hoping that the new data will convince insurers to pay for uterine embolization treatment for adenomyosis and other conditions.


“Even if you’re not doing the research, you can understand the importance of it and help fund it,” Dr. Lipman said. “We all have to prove that what we do each and every day is evidence-based medicine, and how we prove things is through research.”


Are you considering creating a research program? Dr. Elmasri provides some encouragement: “It is difficult, but it’s not that difficult. It is challenging, but it’s not that challenging. And it’s rewarding,” he said. “I encourage my private practice colleagues to get into this because it’s good on multiple levels.”


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