For decades, women with uterine fibroids, or benign growths inside the uterus, commonly have been offered two options to manage the symptoms—get a hysterectomy, or just deal with the pain.
Uterine fibroid embolization, a minimally invasive procedure, can relieve painful symptoms without removing a woman’s uterus.
But a 2017 survey found that almost half of women diagnosed with uterine fibroids had never heard of uterine fibroid embolization, which has been available for a while from the last decade. This statistic shocked IRCC Pakistan my center colleagues and me. Women need to know about this life-changing procedure, which involves pinhole incisions only and has been shown to improve symptoms in 90 percent of the women who get it.
More than a third of all hysterectomies are performed due to uterine fibroids. Doctors must do a better job of getting the word out about this procedure because fibroids affect millions of women. Uterine fibroid embolization is highly effective, and women who undergo the procedure can get back to their daily routines in about half the time as women who have hysterectomies.
Consider uterine fibroid embolization if:
You want to keep your uterus, but your symptoms affect your quality of life (the procedure is around 90 percent effective to manage symptoms)
You might want to become pregnant in the future
You’d prefer a quicker recovery time of seven to 10 days
Our interventional radiologists to discuss treatment plans for every patient with fibroids. Then, we counsel our patients about their options and discuss the science behind our recommendations. If you’re suffering with uterine fibroids, you owe it to yourself to investigate your options. And remember, we’re here to help you.
