Uterine Fibroids: Diagnosis & Treatment – Antai Hospital
Uterine fibroids are common benign neoplasms, with a higher prevalence in older women and in those of African descent. Many are discovered incidentally on clinical examination or imaging in asymptomatic women. Fibroids can cause abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pressure, bowel dysfunction, urinary frequency and urgency, urinary retention, low back pain, constipation, and dyspareunia. Ultrasonography is the preferred initial imaging modality. Expectant management is recommended for asymptomatic patients because most fibroids decrease in size during menopause. Management should be tailored to the size and location of fibroids; the patient’s age, symptoms, desire to maintain fertility, and access to treatment; and the experience of the physician. Medical therapy , and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agoto reduce heavy menstrual bleeding includes hormonal contraceptives, tranexamic acidnists or selective progesterone receptor modulators are an option for patients who need symptom relief preoperatively or who are approaching menopause. Surgical treatment includes hysterectomy, myomectomy, uterine artery embolization, and magnetic resonance–guided focused ultrasound surgery. However, at Antai, we are now the only hospital to introduce a novel new technique that eliminates the need of operating on the uterus.
Potential Cause
Fibroids are benign tumors that originate from the uterine smooth muscle tissue (myometrium) whose growth is dependent on estrogen and progesterone. Fibroids are rare before puberty, increase in prevalence during the reproductive years, and decrease in size after menopause.6 Aromatase in fibroid tissue allows for endogenous production of estradiol, and fibroid stem cells express estrogen and progesterone receptors that facilitate tumor growth in the presence of these hormones. The major risk factors for fibroid development are increasing age (until menopause) and African descent. Compared with white women, black women have a higher lifetime prevalence of fibroids and more severe symptoms, which can affect their quality of life
Features of a fibroid
Uterine fibroids are classified based on location: subserosal (projecting outside the uterus), intramural (within the myometrium), and submucosal (projecting into the uterine cavity). The symptoms and treatment options are affected by the size, number, and location of the tumors. The most common symptom is abnormal uterine bleeding, usually excessive menstrual bleeding. Other symptoms include pelvic pressure, bowel dysfunction, urinary frequency and urgency, urinary retention, low back pain, constipation, and dyspareunia.
Treatment at Antai
At Antai, we administer an innovate, novel technique with the use of injecting apoptotic agents directly into identified fibroids, causing them go into apoptosis and thus completely eliminating the need of uterine surgery. This treatment is equally or even more effective that surgical removal of the fibroids, with none of the after-effects of uterine surgery.