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It is good to know that surgery is not always necessary. Now you can take advantage of safer and highly effective treatments.
Uterine fibroids occur in about 40 percent. women aged 35 to 55. Seven out of ten ladies don’t even know they have them. They find out by accident, during a visit to the gynecologist.
Are they fibroids?
Be sure to see a doctor if:
– you noticed bleeding between menstruation,
– your periods have become longer or have become very heavy,
– the abdomen has become larger, although you have not gained body fat,
– you have a feeling of fullness in your lower abdomen, you feel frequent pressure on your bladder or have difficulty emptying it, you sometimes leak urine, you suffer from constipation or low back pain,
– you feel pain during intercourse.
The symptoms of fibroids may be varicose veins and edema. Some of them, by compressing the veins in the pelvis, make it difficult for blood to drain from the legs.
Where do they come from
Myomas are soft tumors made of smooth muscle fibers of this organ, usually in the body of the uterus, less often in the cervix. They can appear singly or even a dozen or so – they grow slowly, but sometimes they reach the size of a melon. They are benign tumors. An important role is played by genetic predisposition – the tendency is often transferred from mother to daughter – and hormonal disorders (improper levels of estrogens and progesterone). According to another theory, the causes of fibroids should be sought in the development of the reproductive organs in the prenatal period. The problem affects women of childbearing age. During the menopause, new ones are unlikely to be formed, and the existing ones stop growing because the production of hormones in the ovaries stops.
Sometimes control is enough
Myomas, which do not grow quickly and do not cause bothersome symptoms (e.g. pain, heavy bleeding), should be regularly monitored: at least every six months. If treatment is necessary, the doctor will also take into account the patient’s age, health, and whether she is planning to have children and whether she wants to preserve the reproductive organ. The smaller the fibroids, the easier it is to treat.
- As an adjunct in the case of fibroids, it is worth drinking an infusion of Uterine fibroids – a mixture of herbs that can be easily and safely purchased at Medonet Market.
Surgery is sometimes necessary
If the symptoms cause severe discomfort and pain and the lumps are large, your doctor will advise you to remove them. Women who wish to remain fertile have the fibroids themselves removed. Mature women who have already given birth and those whose fibroids can cause serious complications, may be advised by the doctor to remove some or all of the reproductive organ (the so-called hysterectomy). Traditional surgery is performed if the fibroids are very large, numerous or difficult to access. On the other hand, for small, single ones, a less invasive procedure, the so-called myomectomy (or enucleation of fibroids).
For whom:
Ladies with few tumors up to 6 cm in diameter are eligible for laparoscopy. Other patients are included in the laparotomy (abdominal dissection procedure). Myiomectomy carries the risk of fibroids recurrence – this is the case in almost half of women. Especially in patients who are prone to tumors that cause complaints. The biggest downside to having part (or all) of the reproductive organ removed is that a woman enters a premature menopause. Therefore, it is worth asking your doctor about other treatments.
Starvation of the myoma, or embolization
The procedure that has been used for several years is to close the blood vessels reaching the tumor. It is not nourished, it is getting smaller and smaller. Before the procedure, it is necessary to perform tests (including transvaginal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging of the smaller pelvis). This allows the doctor to evaluate the fibroids and the surrounding tissues. The level of hormones is also checked. The procedure takes no more than an hour and is performed under local anesthesia. The doctor pricks the axillary or femoral arteries. After the anesthesia is injected, a catheter, i.e. a soft tube, about 1,2 mm in diameter, is inserted into the artery. Through her gives the so-called contrast (a measure that will make the arteries more visible on the monitor). Then he injects the so-called an embolization preparation that closes the blood vessel. A slight pain in the lower abdomen is a sign that the blood supply to the tumor has been cut off. A hospital stay lasts a day or two. After the procedure, it is recommended to rest at home for a week, and avoid strenuous exercise for a month. After a year, the tumor may shrink by up to 90 percent. The treatment is effective in over 98%. cases. The hormonal balance is undisturbed and the symptoms disappear.
For whom: Embolization is a solution for women in whom the operation could be risky, e.g. due to other diseases, and also when the fibroids grew rapidly after the previous operation. The procedure is most effective when the fibroids are 5-10 cm in diameter or numerous. Smaller tumors (3-4 cm) are also removed when there is abnormal bleeding. Embolization is also indicated when the fibroids are very large (11-15 cm) but the woman is planning children.
The procedure can be performed for a fee in several hospitals, incl. in Lublin, at the Department of Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology of the Medical University of Lublin. They are also performed by private clinics, e.g. the Enel-Med clinic. and Swissmed. The cost of the procedure is from PLN 5,5 thousand. PLN, depending on the size of the fibroids. Efforts are underway to reimburse the procedure by the National Health Fund.
To take care of your body and prevent the formation of fibroids, as well as to support their treatment, it is worth using Uterine fibroids – a mixture of herbs for irrigation.
Hormone therapy
Drug treatment consists of administering hormones and painkillers. They are usually used for 3-4 months before a scheduled surgery. With therapy, the amount of hormones produced by the ovaries is reduced and the tumors become smaller. The treatment is safer afterwards because it reduces blood loss. Hormone administration is also indicated in perimenopausal women. It stops the tumor from growing until the woman enters the menopause and the disease begins to regress. The doctor may recommend the so-called GnRH analogs. These are agents that cause the level of estrogen to drop and at the same time reduce the blood flow through the uterine arteries – this is nothing else than inducing an artificial menopause. The effect is the reduction of the myoma by 30-70%. in half a year. Unfortunately, the tumor usually returns to its previous size after six months. Giving these drugs before elective surgery reduces the size of the fibroids and blood loss during surgery, but some experts say it makes the procedure slightly more difficult.
Sometimes, when the tumors are not growing, the doctor recommends oral contraceptives – they work by reducing the amount of bleeding, but they do not affect the growth of the fibroids.
As an adjunct in the treatment of benign uterine tumors, you can use For uterine fibroids – a herbal mixture of Klimuszko’s father, which you can buy at an affordable price on Medonet Market.
Modern treatments
In some clinics, punctual destruction of the tumor is performed with as little damage to the uterus as possible. These include:
Laser thermotherapy
It consists in introducing, using a laparoscope, a laser fiber into the vascular bed supplying the myoma and coagulating it. After the procedure, the myoma significantly diminishes or disappears completely.
Myolysis
During ultrasound-guided laparoscopy, an electrode that generates a high-frequency electric current is inserted into the myoma. It causes the burning of the myoma tissue surrounding the electrode and the destruction of the blood vessels that supply it.
Cryomyolysis
A metal probe is used to destroy fibroids, which is cooled to a very low temperature (about -180 ° C). The myoma tissue is alternately frozen and thawed, which damages the vessels that supply it. The myoma is gone.
For whom: Treatments are performed when myomas have a diameter of 5-10 cm. They are performed under general anesthesia and only privately. The cost is several thousand zlotys.
A new, safe drug
An innovative agent in tablets containing ulipristal acetate has appeared on the market. It acts directly on myomas, inhibiting their development and reducing their size by about 30-50%. during 3 months of treatment. Already in the first 7-10 DAYS? When the drug is administered, heavy bleeding is reduced. This is of great importance in women at risk of anemia, because the hemoglobin level improves. The drug is used in preparation for an operation to remove fibroids. However, in half of women after a 3-month treatment, surgery is not necessary. Sometimes the use of the drug causes minor temporary side effects, such as amenorrhea and mild hot flushes. Menstruation usually returns within 4 weeks after stopping treatment. However, therapy is expensive and not reimbursed. For a package of the drug (enough for 28 days) we will pay about PLN 750, i.e. the cost of the entire treatment will be over PLN 2,2 thousand. zloty.
Consultation: prof. dr hab. n.med. Jan Kotarski, Head of the XNUMXst Department and Clinic of Gynecological Oncology and Gynecology at the Medical University of Lublin