Learning more about Fibroids
Fibroids and fibroid treatment are often surrounded by uncertainty that creates misconceptions. How do I know if I have endometriosis or fibroids? What’s the difference between fibroids and polyps? How do they impact pregnancy? Or, are they cancerous? When looking at the fibroid treatment options, there are two: uterine fibroid embolization and surgery.
Read on to become clearer…
What are fibroids?
Fibroids are non-cancerous, benign growths of the uterus that often appear during childbearing years (usually between 20-55 years). There are various types of fibroids, ranging in size, single or multiple, and in some cases, they expand the uterus. Around 3 out of 4 women have uterine fibroids sometime during their lives, but most are unaware of them because there are often no symptoms of uterine fibroids.
They can easily be identified on a sonar scan of the womb and the symptoms of uterine fibroids range from heavy menstrual bleeding, and frequent urination, to constipation. Rarely, a fibroid can cause acute pain and fever when it outgrows its blood supply.
Other treatment options
Fibroid Care only offers minimally-invasive Uterine Fibroid Embolisation as fibroid treatment, however, there are other forms of surgery available. Open surgery on fibroids is an invasive option for fibroids treatment, such as Myomectomy and Hysterectomy.
A myomectomy is a form of surgery where the doctor removes the growths without taking out the healthy tissue of the uterus. It is performed by making an incision in the abdomen, under general anaesthesia. High-risk factors include longer recovery, blood loss, and infection.
A hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus and other pelvic organs, also through an incision in the abdomen. This form of surgery would then result in women not being able to become pregnant. Hysterectomy surgery has the same high-risk factors as myomectomy surgery.
What about endometriosis?
It is important to differentiate between the two. Fibroids are non-cancerous growths inside the womb and can cause symptoms similar to endometriosis – pain and heavy periods. Endometriosis is a condition where the tissue, part of the lining of the womb, grows outside of the womb. This tissue grows in the tummy, on the ovaries, and on other areas. Endometriosis is diagnosed by a doctor through laparoscopy and is treated with medication or surgery.
Are fibroids cancerous?
They are not cancerous. It is important to get your pap smear done regularly to test for any abnormalities that might be cancerous.
Fibroids or polyps?
Fibroids and polyps are very similar growths which are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue. They both are situated in the uterus and often cause bleeding, difficulty in falling pregnant and recurring pregnancies. The difference between the two is that polyps are tumours of the uterine lining while fibroids are tumours of the uterine muscle tissue. Both fibroids and polyps are diagnosed by examination such as a scan but polyps are only treatable by surgery.
How do they affect pregnancy?
Some women are concerned that having fibroids will impact the likelihood of falling pregnant. However, many women fall pregnant while having fibroids and have a normal pregnancy. The fibroids would only become a problem in pregnancy when there are many of them. Fibroids would also be a problem if they grow inside the womb (where the baby grows). In this case, some women fall pregnant with fibroids and then have a miscarriage due to the fibroids. Some women also learn about their fibroids when they have a c-section and can then proceed with the necessary treatments.
It is, therefore, possible for us to check for abnormalities during pregnancies in order to have a normal pregnancy.
Ultimately, fibroids are manageable and should not be a cause for concern. For more information on fibroid treatment and fibroid embolization in South Africa. Send us an email on fibroidcare@gmail.com and make an appointment.