A York lawyer is celebrating after a new treatment, which could spare thousands of women undergoing major surgery, gained expert backing.

Fiona Buckton has lobbied for a simple, cheap treatment to be available on the NHS since having it herself to remove fibroids.

Fibroids - growths in the womb - are the single most common cause of hysterectomies, accounting for a third of the 70,000 operations carried out by the NHS each year. But uterine artery embolisation (UAE) involves killing the growths by cutting off their blood supply. It is quicker, cheaper, and has fewer side effects than a hysterectomy.

Now a joint report by the Royal College of Radiologists and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has concluded that UAE should be considered for women who might otherwise be advised to have surgical treatment.

Mrs Buckton had UAE at Hull Royal Infirmary in 1999 after being advised by a York gynaecologist.

The 41-year-old solicitor at Munby and Scott in Blake Street was concerned by the potential emotional impact of having a hysterectomy, possible complications, and the need to take three months off work. In contrast she found UAE involved "minimal pain" - but she had to pay with private medical insurance because it is not available on the NHS.

Mrs Buckton and York MP Hugh Bayley have lobbied the Department of Health and the royal colleges to make UAE more widely available. She thought this had not happened yet because the procedure, which involves keyhole surgery, was so new.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Health Authority said the report held out the prospect of improved treatment for women with fibroids, but UAE was still on a list of procedures requiring further research into their safety and effectiveness. When that was completed and they were sure local clinicians were properly trained it its use, the health authority or primary care trusts could commission the procedure.

Updated: 12:44 Wednesday, February 14, 2001