5 Things You Didn’t Know About Fibroids — But Should

Uterine fibroids, like many health conditions, don’t necessarily cause noticeable symptoms. However, when left untreated, these benign tumors can continue to grow and cause painful periods and disrupt your fertility. Your annual pelvic exam with your trusted women’s health care provider at Maiden Lane Medical is the best way to get a diagnosis and treatment before fibroids interfere with your life.

What exactly are fibroids?

Fibroids are tumors that grow in or on the walls of your uterus. They range in size from as small as an apple seed to as large as a softball or grapefruit. You may only have one uterine fibroid, or you could grow several fibroids at the same time. While they’re not life-threatening, they can cause disruptive symptoms such as heavy, painful, and lengthy periods and pelvic pain. Fibroids can also interfere with your fertility and cause pregnancy complications.

Five fibroid facts

1. Fibroids are very common

Fibroids affect around 75% of American women by middle age. African-American women have the highest risk of developing fibroids.

2. Fibroids are usually benign

While fibroids are classified as tumors, they’re rarely cancerous and don’t necessarily increase your risk of uterine cancer.

3. Most fibroids don’t cause noticeable symptoms

While fibroids are a widespread women’s health condition, only around 20% of women who have fibroids have noticeable symptoms like weight gain.

4. Fibroids can interfere with your fertility

Fibroids can prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to your uterine wall, making it difficult for you to become pregnant. Also, if you do become pregnant, fibroids increase your risk of miscarriage and make it more likely that you’ll need a cesarean delivery.

5. Fibroid treatment doesn’t end your fertility

Fortunately, treatments for fibroids don’t necessarily impact your fertility. The team of board-certified gynecologists at Maiden Lane Medical offer a comprehensive range of procedures to remove your fibroids.

Fibroid treatment options

If you have large fibroids which are disrupting your life with painful symptoms or if you want to have a baby and need to restore your reproductive health, the team at Maiden Lane Medical can help. They offer medication as well as surgical procedures including myomectomy, global endometrial ablation, and hysterectomy procedures.

Oral contraceptives won’t shrink fibroids or make them disappear, but they can stop the tumors from growing and prevent new ones. This could be an effective treatment option if your fibroids are small and aren’t causing disruptive symptoms, and you’re not planning on getting pregnant any time soon.

Myomectomy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure to remove fibroids. The doctors perform myomectomy either laparoscopically or with the daVinci® robotic surgery equipment. A myomectomy is an excellent treatment option if you want to preserve your fertility.

Global endometrial ablation is an incision-free treatment to remove fibroids. The doctors use heat (Thermachoice®), electrical energy (Novasure®), or cryotherapy. Global endometrial ablation is an in-office procedure, performed with light sedation so that you can go home soon after your treatment.

While the team at Maiden Lane Medical wants to help you avoid a hysterectomy, in some severe cases, this procedure to remove your uterus is the best and most effective method of treating uterine fibroids.

If you’re concerned about fibroids, schedule an appointment at Maiden Lane Medical today for expert diagnosis and compassionate, effective medical care.