Something that is often not talked about in women’s health is the presence of uterine fibroids. It is highly normal for a woman to have uterine fibroid tumours— two out of four women have them at some point in life. They may not present themselves in any physical sign, and often go unnoticed. However, the scenario may turn severe if the tumour grows and transforms into large myomas, which can be very painful. Thus, it is important for women to know how to manage this condition. In this article, we’ll explore the main approaches towards uterine fibroids treatment.
Treatment of Uterine Fibroids
When it comes to uterine fibroids treatment, there is no one-size-fits-all option. However, listed below are the commonly used therapy options:
1. Watchful Waiting: Fibroids are noncancerous and frequently grow slowly or not at all, particularly after menopause. If you have no symptoms or minimal symptoms, your doctor may recommend merely monitoring your fibroids over time.
2. Medicines: Several drugs address symptoms such as heavy bleeding and pelvic pressure by targeting the hormones that govern the menstrual cycle. However, they do not remove fibroids but may decrease them. These are some examples:
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists: These medications lower estrogen and progesterone and cause a brief menopause-like state by reducing the fibroids.
- GnRH antagonists: These are used for treating heavy menstrual bleeding without shrinking the fibroids.
- Progestin-releasing IUD: This device can alleviate heavy bleeding caused by fibroids but doesn't shrink them.
- Tranexamic acid: This nonhormonal medicine is used on heavy bleeding days to ease menstrual flow.
- Other medicines: Low-dose birth control pills for controlling menstrual bleeding and NSAIDs for pain relief even though NSAIDs don't reduce bleeding caused by fibroids.
3. Noninvasive Procedure: MRI-guided focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) is a noninvasive and outpatient procedure that maintains the uterus. It destroys fibroid tissue by using sound waves.
4. Minimally Invasive Procedures: These techniques make no or very minor cuts. These are some examples:
- Uterine artery embolization: Small particles are injected into uterine arteries to cut off blood flow to fibroids to make them shrink.
- Radiofrequency ablation: Hare, heat is used to kill uterine fibroids through minor abdominal incisions, the vagina, or the cervix.
- Laparoscopic or robotic myomectomy: This procedure involves eliminating fibroids while leaving the uterus intact.
- Hysteroscopic myomectomy: This procedure is done to remove fibroids from the uterus through the cervix.
5. Endometrial Ablation: This reduces excessive menstrual flow by damaging the uterine lining.
6. Traditional Surgical Procedures: This entails open procedures with huge incisions. These are some examples:
- Abdominal myomectomy: This removes fibroids through a bigger abdominal incision.
- Hysterectomy: This removes the uterus completely and is a permanent cure for fibroids.
Each of these treatments has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. If you are thinking about having a baby in the future, talk to your doctor about the reproductive consequences of each treatment option.