Which is the best treatment for fibroid in the uterus?
Fibroids in the uterus or uterine fibroid is a very common tumour among women. The good news is that uterine fibroid is a benign growth meaning that the tumour is a noncancerous growth. The uterus has few layers and uterine fibroid arises from the muscle layer which is known as the myometrium. Uterine fibroid is derived from the two components of the myometrium which are smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts. Treatments by DoctoronCall are available for this disease and other diseases that you are you are suffering from.
This disease mainly affects women of reproductive age. The symptoms of fibroid in the uterus are:
- Heavy menstrual bleeding
- Prolonged menstrual bleeding
- Pelvic pain or discomfort
- Back pain
- Frequent urination
- Incomplete bladder emptying and sometimes complete obstruction that will result in no urination
- Constipation
- Painful menses
- Painful sexual intercourse
- Fever if the fibroid starts degenerating
Fibroid in the uterus may result in many complications such as infertility and thromboembolic phenomenon. The risk factors for uterine fibroids are:
- Black women
- Low parity or nulliparous
- Early-onset of first menses or early menarche
- Exposure to phthalates
- Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl
- Exposure to bisphenol A
- Obesity
- Consumption of red meat and beef
- High sugar diet or consuming food of high glycaemic index
- Low sunlight exposure and low vitamin D level
- Consumption of alcohol, especially beer
- Genetics
- Hypertension
History taking, physical examination, and investigations are needed before a diagnosis of uterine fibroid can be made. Investigation to confirm the diagnosis of fibroid in the uterus is:
- Blood studies
- Pelvic ultrasound
- Saline infused sonogram
- Hysteroscopy
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Other conditions that can be mistaken for uterine fibroids are:
- Pregnancy
- Benign leiomyoma
- Adenomyosis (diffuse infiltration of the myometrium) or adenomyoma
- Leiomyoma variant
- Leiomyosarcoma
- Metastatic disease (Cancer spread from other organs)
- Endometrial polyp
- Endometrial cancer
- Carcinosarcoma
- Endometrial stromal sarcoma
- Hematometra (blood within the uterine cavity, usually following an intrauterine procedure)
Fibroid in uterus affects the quality of life of patients. It was reported that patients with fibroid in the uterus are sad, discouraged, and worn out. Some even feel that uterine fibroid prevented them from achieving their full employment potential. Uterine fibroid is not just living a huge impact on patients’ lives, but also to the economy. Uterine fibroids are a burden to the health care system as the overall management cost is expensive. In America, the annual cost of managing uterine fibroids is around 9.4 billion USD.
Asymptomatic uterine fibroid is usually left untreated as they are harmless. The treatment goal in managing this disease is to relieve the symptoms in symptomatic patients. When and what type of intervention is strongly depending on the following factors:
- Type and severity of symptoms
- Size of the tumours
- Location of the tumour
- Patient’s age
- Obstetric history and reproductive plans
The three treatment modalities available are:
- Medications
- Surgery
- Interventional radiology
The group of medications that can be used to treat uterine fibroid is hormones, antifibrinolytics agents, and Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The examples of hormones are:
- Estrogen-progesterone contraceptives
- Levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system
- Progesterone pills, implants, and injections
- Progesterone receptor modulators
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists
- Raloxifene
- Aromatase inhibitors
- Danazol and gestrinone
The examples of surgeries are:
- Hysterectomy
- Myomectomy
- Endometrial ablation
- Myolysis
- Uterine artery occlusion
The interventional radiology methods that can be done are:
- Uterine artery embolization
- Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound
Treatments by DoctoronCall are available to help you recover from any diseases you are suffering from and be healthy again. We are here to make your life better.
