Feel symptom free if you have uterine fibroids, thanks to the compassionate and skilled care of our expert healthcare providers.
Fibroids are benign growths that form on the muscular wall of your uterus. The good news is— most fibroids are non-cancerous and easily treated.
Fibroids develop from an abnormal muscle cell in the uterus and grow into a fibroid. Fibroids can be as small as a peanut and as large as a grapefruit, or even larger.
Uterine fibroids can develop anytime during the child-bearing years. And if you’re nearing perimenopause, you’re more likely to develop fibroids.
Although the exact cause of fibroids is unknown, it's likely that they’re caused by many factors interacting with one another.
Estrogen and progesterone seem to promote fibroid growth. Fibroids tend to shrink after menopause as hormone production decreases.
Having a close relative with fibroids increases your chance of developing them.
If you’re a woman of reproductive age, other factors may increase your risk for having uterine fibroids:
If you have uterine fibroids, you may have no symptoms, mild symptoms, or you may be experiencing severe symptoms, which can take a physical and an emotional toll.
Symptoms of uterine fibroids include:
You may be unsure about the pain you’re experiencing. But don't ignore the signs your body is sending you.
If you’ve noticed any of the following changes, it’s time to make an appointment with your doctor:
Many women with fibroids go years without seeking medical care. Changes to look for include abnormal uterine bleeding, changes in menstrual periods, and pain during sex.
If you think you may have uterine fibroids, discuss your concerns with your gynecologist or schedule an appointment with one of our uterine fibroid experts.
By the age of 50, eight out of 10 women will develop uterine fibroids. But unless you have symptoms, you may not even know you have them. It’s often during a routine pelvic exam that your doctor finds irregularities which suggest fibroids.
For diagnosis, you’ll be asked for a complete medical history and receive a pelvic or abdominal examination, or both. You also may have one of the following procedures to see if you have uterine fibroids:
If you have been diagnosed with uterine fibroids, you can receive the most effective treatment from our skilled healthcare providers. They’ll work with you to create a treatment plan that meets your needs and lifestyle.
Your doctor may take a Wait and See approach when your fibroids are discovered because they can grow and shrink over time with hormone changes. Your doctor will then monitor you closely to watch for fibroid changes.
If you require treatment for your uterine fibroids, it may include:
Hormone treatments usually provide temporary relief from symptoms.
When non-surgical treatments aren’t an option for you, your doctor may suggest surgery. It’s important to talk with your gynecologist and get the facts. Because sometimes misperceptions about surgery and recovery times prevent women from having a procedure they really need.
Our women's health specialists can help you manage your fears and anxieties about surgery. We specialize in minimally invasive procedures that offer minimal pain, low levels of complications, and fast recovery times. So you can get back to what you enjoy doing sooner.
Surgical treatments that may be recommended for uterine fibroids include:
You can choose from minimally invasive options to reduce the size of your uterine fibroids without having to remove them. In many cases, reducing fibroid size is proven to lessen and often eliminate correlating symptoms.
The minimally invasive procedures keep the uterus intact, preserving your fertility if you still intend to have children. The procedures also require little downtime, allowing you to get back to your day-to-day life quickly.
The location of your fibroids will determine which of the following two minimally invasive options would be best to shrink your fibroids. Both options use ultrasound to navigate and locate the fibroids, and then targeted radiofrequency ablation to treat them.
