What are Uterine Fibroids ?
These are non cancerous growths that occur in the wall of the uterus. These are commonly found in women of reproductive age group and can range from smaller than 2 cms to more than 10 cms in diameter.
What are Uterine Fibroids ?
The symptoms can range from none at all to severe bleeding and pain. Other symptoms can be :
? Heavy and unusually long lasting periods.
? Tiredness and fatigue.
? Pressure symptoms caused by bulky fibroids like frequent urination, constipation etc.
? Infertility.
? Painful sexual intercourse.
How are uterine fibroids diagnosed ?
A Pelvic Ultrasound examination can diagnose uterine fibroids.
What are my treatment options ?
If you do not have any symptoms, your fibroids do not need any treatment. Follow up ultrasounds can help monitor their growth.
If you do have symptomatic fibroids, then there can be several treatment options like:
Medical Management : Hormonal pills like GnRH analogues can help shrink fibroids, but can also cause menopause like symptoms. Fibroids tend to grow back once the treatment is stopped.
Surgical Management :
Myomectomy : This is a surgery in which fibroids are removed.
Hysterectomy : Removal of the whole uterus.
These are effective treatments but require general anaesthesia and have a long recover period
Uterine fibroid embolisation
This is a minimally invasive image guided procedure in which a small needle prick in the groin helps us gain access to the arterial tree. Specialized catheters like the Ann Roberts Uterine artery catheter is used to reach the uterine artery. A microcatheter is then navigated deep within the uterine artery. The Interventional Radiologist then injects appropriately sized PVA ( poly-vinyl-alcohol ) particles into the uterine artery. These particles are sized in such a way that they occlude the capillaries that give supply to the fibroid and not the normal uterus. Thus, blood supply to the fibroids is selectively blocked, leaving the normal uterus intact.The patient is given pain medications and kept in the hospital for observation for one day and discharged the next day.
Are there any complication of Uterine Fibroid Embolization ?
Yes, there are reported complications like ovarian failure, pain and infection. We take all precautions and give the necessary antibiotics to prevent these from occurring.
How is Uterine Fibroid Embolization Done ?
