What Is Uterine Fibroid?
Uterine fibroid is a benign tumor containing fibrous tissue which grows on the walls of the uterus. The size of the tumor and its growth rate is not the same for every woman. For some women, the fibroid takes about a couple of years to fully develop, while in some women it proliferates and become fully developed within some months. The size of the fibroid varies as well; the size of the fibroid ranges from one inch to 12 inches in diameter.
Uterine fibroid; also known as leiomyoma or myoma is the primary cause of morbidity in women of reproductive age (and sometimes even after menopause). Women within the age bracket of 35 and 54 are mostly diagnosed with uterine fibroids. Notwithstanding, women younger than 35 years can as well develop uterine fibroids.
It’s possible for a woman diagnosed with uterine fibroid to have more than one fibroid growing in her uterus at the same time. Approximately 20% – 80% of women develop fibroids by age 50. Although it’s still unclear why it appears so, research has revealed that fibroids are more prevalent in African American women and women who are overweight.
Common Symptoms of Uterine Fibroids
Not all women with fibroids have symptoms. However, when symptoms do occur, they may include:
You’ve Just Been Diagnosed with Uterine Fibroid?
If you have uterine fibroids, there are many treatment options for you to consider. Treatments can vary from monitoring to a hysterectomy and will vary depending on the patient’s age, symptoms, previous treatments and successes, and desire to have children, and lots more. Some of the standard treatment options for Uterine Fibroids include;
- Hormonal medications, such as birth-control pills or gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa)
- Hysterectomy, which is the surgical removal of the uterus and ovaries
- Myomectomy, which is the surgical removal of the fibroids)
- Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), which is a non-surgical treatment option
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Fibroid Symptom Checker
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REFERENCES
Wallach EE. Myomectomy. In: Thompson JD, Rock JA, eds. Te Linde’s Operative Gynecology, 7th ed. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1992; pp 647-662.
Baird DD, Dunson DB, Hill MC, Cousins D, Schectman JM. High cumulative incidence of uterine leiomyoma in black and white women: Ultrasound evidence. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;188:100–107.
Marshall LM, Spiegelman D, Barbieri RL, et al. Variation in the incidence of uterine leiomyoma among premenopausal women by age and race. Obstet Gynecol. 1997;90:967–973.
Wise LA, Palmer JR, Stewart EA, Rosenberg L. Age-specific incidence rates for self-reported uterine leiomyomata in the Black Women’s Health Study. Obstet Gynecol. 2005;105: 563–568.
Huyck KL, Panhuysen CI, Cuenco KT, et al. The impact of race as a risk factor for symptom severity and age at diagnosis of uterine leiomyomata among affected sisters. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008;198:168 e161–169.