Treatments for Uterine Fibroids

Uterine fibroids are growths on the uterine wall muscles. Fibroids can grow to be quite large – sometimes as large as a grapefruit or even larger. While researchers aren’t sure what causes fibroids, hormonal changes most likely play a significant role.

Fibroid growth typically occurs during the childbearing years when hormonal fluctuations are more common, fibroids usually shrink once a woman enters menopause and levels of estrogen hormone decline.

Sometimes, fibroids may grow during pregnancy, interfering with a woman’s ability to carry a pregnancy to term, and when fibroids are present during pregnancy, they will need to be monitored to ensure they don’t interfere with the baby’s growth or health.

Very small fibroids may cause no symptoms, but larger fibroids can cause symptoms such as:

• very heavy periods or prolonged periods

• spotting between periods

• severe cramping and backache during periods

• pain or pressure in the pelvic area

• increased urge to urinate

• pain during intercourse

• infertility or miscarriage

While the cause of uterine fibroids isn’t known, research suggests that hormones, genetic changes, or body growth factors may contribute to their development. It’s thought that fibroids develop from uterine stem cells. There are many growth patterns to fibroids. Some grow slowly while others advance quickly. A fibroid may remain the same size, or it may go through periodic spurts, and many shrink on their own.

You’re more at risk of developing fibroids if a family member has them, or if you started menstruating at an early age.

Fibroids that don’t cause symptoms may not require any treatment. Symptomatic fibroids may be treated using different approaches, including:

• surgical removal using minimally-invasive techniques or robot-assisted approaches using the da Vinci surgical robot

• uterine artery embolization to cut off the blood flow to the fibroids

• MRI-guided focused ultrasound

• hormone therapy

Each treatment offers different “pros and cons,” and treatment options will be reviewed following a physical examination to “narrow down” the choices.

In some women, fibroids can grow back. The likelihood of regrowth depends on several factors, including the method used to originally treat them.

In most cases, fibroids can be surgically removed using minimally-invasive techniques, including robot-assisted techniques using the state-of-the-art da Vinci surgical robot system. Minimally-invasive techniques use very small incisions, resulting in less bleeding and tissue damage as well as faster recovery. The da Vinci system is designed to work with the surgeon to achieve a very high degree of precision and accuracy for superior outcomes.