 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
What are uterine fibroids?
Fibroids, also called leiomyomas, are benign tumors of the uterus made up of uterine muscle cells. Fibroids can be located within various parts of the uterus, causing different symptoms. Fibroids are vascular tumors with a rich supply of blood vessels from the uterine artery. Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) deprives the fibroids of their blood supply causing them to shrink dramatically.
There are three primary types of uterine fibroids. Subserosal fibroids develop in the outer portion of the uterus and expand outward. These can cause
symptoms by compressing adjacent organs such as the rectum, bladder, and blood vessels. Intramural fibroids grow within the wall of the uterus. These are the most common type of fibroids and can cause heavy menstrual flow as well as pelvic pain and pressure. Submucosal fibroids are deep within the uterus, just under the lining of the uterine cavity. These are the least common fibroids, but they often cause symptoms, including very heavy and prolonged periods. Pedunculated fibroids grow on a thin stalk protruding from the surface of the uterus. An individual woman may have single or multiple fibroids. In fact, there can be different types of fibroids present in any given patient. Fibroids may range in size from the size of a pea to larger than a cantaloupe.
Symptoms caused by fibroids typically improve after menopause when the level of estrogen, the female hormone circulating in the blood, decreases dramatically. However, post-menopausal women taking estgrogen replacement therapy may not experience relief of symptoms.
How common are fibroids?
Fibroids are present in 25-40% of women age 35 and older. African-American women are at higher risk for fibroids: as many as 50% have fibroids of significant size. Only about half of the women with fibroids develop symptoms, but these patients represent one-third of the 600,000 patients who have hysterectomies in the United States every year. In other words, fibroids result in 200,000 hysterectomies every year.
Return to Top
What symptoms do fibroids cause?
Symptoms are present in about half of patients with fibroids. Depending on the location, size and number of fiboids, they may cause:
- Heavy, prolinged menstrual periods and unusual monthly bleeding, sometimes with clots which may lead to anemia
- Pelvic pain
- Pelvic pressure or heaviness
- Pain in the back or legs
- Compression of the veins that drain blood from the legs, causing leg swelling
- Bladder pressure leading to a constant urge to urinate
- Pressure on adjacent bowel leading to constipation and bloating
- Abnormally enlarged abdomen
It is important to realize that there can be other causes for vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain, and pain during sexual intercourse. Many women with these symptoms do not have fibroids but rather some other condition which may be more serious, and require treatment. Before assuming that fibroids are responsible for the symptoms, each woman must be thoroughly evaluated by a doctor with experience and training in women's health. For a list of OB/Gyn phsyicians click here.
Return to Top
Do they have to be treated?
The answer to this question depends on many different variables. Fibroids are benign, non-cancerous tumors of the uterus, and only cause symptoms in about half of the women who have them. Fibroids that cause no symptoms rarely require treatment. If symptoms are mild and well conrolled with medical therapy, further treatment is usually not necessary. When symptoms from uterine fibroids become intolerable with conservative medical therapy and reduce a woman's quality of life, then the fibroids should be treated. At what point symptoms become intolerable will vary from patient to patient and depend on many different factors.
Statistics
- Every 10 minutes, 12 hysterectomies are performed in the United States. According to a recent report published by Obstetrics and Gynecology, 9 of them probably didn't meet the guidelines set out by the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists for hysterectomy.
- 600,000 hysterectomies are performed in the United States each year (200,000 due to uterine fibroids)
- Over 5 billion dollars spent annually on hysterectomies (medical expense of procedures only)
- Average time off from work to recover from a hysterectomy is 6 weeks (~144 million lost work hours)
- ~60% of all women undergoing hysterectomy have their ovaries removed.
- Over 5 billion dollars spent on hormone replacement therapy annually
- 37% of all women undergo hysterectomy by age 60
- Myomectomy is performed less than 40,000 times a year in the U.S.
- Over 25,000 uterine artery embolizations have been performed worldwide since 1996.
- For every 10,000 hysterectomies performed, 11 women die. (Approximately 660 women die each year in the United States from complications of hysterectomy.)
- In Texas, 43% of women aged 45 to 64, 53% of women aged 65 and over, and 26% of all women report having had a hysterectomy.
Links: Home Page | About Fibroids | Treatments | UFE Procedure | Results | Our Doctors | Our Team | Actual UFE Case | Schedule an Appointment | Frequently Asked Questions | Insurance | OB/GYN Finder | Medical Literature | Links | Site Map