An estimated 40 percent of all reproductive-age women have fibroid tumors, which account for nearly 200,000 hysterectomies performed in the U.S. each year. Fibroid tumors grow in the uterus. While not cancerous, they can still result in difficulties for women – especially if the tumors are very large. Fibroid tumors can cause severe bleeding, pain during intercourse, infertility, incontinence, repeated urinary tract infections and miscarriage.

Many women have fibroid tumors but are symptom-free. These women do not require treatment. However, women with the symptoms described above should seek treatment.

Historically, there are two procedures that have been used to treat women with symptoms from fibroid tumors:

Hysterectomy: the surgical removal of the uterus and, possibly, the fallopian tubes and ovaries. A traditional hysterectomy is very invasive, requiring significant incisions (cuts) and long recovery periods — up to eight weeks if there are no complications. While hysterectomy solves the problem of fibroid tumors, it results in infertility since the reproductive organs have been removed.

Myomectomy: The surgical removal of the fibroid tumors is another procedure that has been widely performed to treat fibroid tumors. Myomectomy may be used as an alternative to hysterectomy since it does not interfere with a woman’s fertility. The downside of myomectomy is that in about 25 percent of cases, fibroid tumors regrow.

Today, women with symptomatic fibroid tumors have more treatment choices than ever. Einstein’s leading women’s healthcare team offers several minimally invasive treatment options for fibroid tumors. These alternatives offer several advantages over the traditional procedures described above.

 

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