uterine fibroids is through surgery.
- Laparoscopy (pronounced lappareahskoe pee)—In this procedure, the surgeon makes a small cut into the abdomen, after inflating it with a harmless gas; then, using a small viewing instrument with a light in it, the doctor can look for fibroids.
- Your health care provider may suggest a procedure called a hysteroscopy (pronounced hissturahskoepee), which involves inserting a camera on a long tube through the vagina directly into the uterus to see the fibroids.
Keep in mind that because these are surgical procedures, you will need time to recover from them. However, the amount of recovery time you’ll need may vary.
Treatments
If you have uterine fibroids, but show no symptoms, you many not need any treatment. Women who have pain and other symptoms might benefit If you have uterine fibroids, but show no symptoms or problems, you may not need any treatment. Your health care provider will check the fibroids at your routine gynecological exam to see if they have grown. Also, because fibroids rely on hormones to grow, your fibroids may decrease in size during/after menopause.
If you have pain now and then or feel mild symptoms, your health care provider may suggest pain medication, ranging from over the counter remedies to stronger prescription drugs. Treatments include:
- Medications can offer relief from the symptoms of fibroids and even slow or stop their growth. But, once you stop taking the medicine, the fibroids often grow back.
- There are several types of fibroid surgery:
- Myomectomy – Removes only the fibroids and leaves the healthy areas of the uterus in place
- Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE) – Cuts off the blood supply to the uterus and fibroids, making them shrink
- Hysterectomy – A more major procedure that removes the uterus; this type of surgery is the only sure way to cure fibroids.
Possible Complications
If you have many symptoms or feel pain often, you may benefit from medical therapy—that is, therapy using certain medications rather than surgery. Keep in mind that many medications have side effects, some of them serious.
If you have moderate symptoms of fibroids, surgery may be the best form of treatment. Surgery can be a major or a minor procedure. Talk to your health care provider about the different types of surgery, the possible risks of the procedure, and the side effects.
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call to make an appointment if you have possible symptoms of a problem from a uterine fibroid, including:
• Heavy bleeding or painful periods
• Bleeding between periods
• Feeling “full” in the lower abdomen— sometimes called “pelvic pressure”
• Urinating often (results from a fibroid pressing on the bladder)
• Pain during sex
• Lower back pain
• Reproductive problems, such as infertility, multiple miscarriages, and early onset of labor during pregnancy
Preventions
Because we don’t know what causes fibroids, we also don’t know what increases or decreases the risk. Once we know the cause or causes of fibroids, our efforts to find a cure or even prevent fibroids will move ahead more quickly.