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Fibroid tumor treatment

Contents of this page:

Illustrations

Fibroid tumors
Fibroid tumors

Alternative Names    Return to top

Treatment - fibroid tumors. Treatment - uterine leiomyoma

Information    Return to top

Fibroid tumors are noncancerous growths (tumors) in the uterus. In most cases, treatment is not needed at all. Treatment is only considered if the fibroid is growing rapidly or if you have symptoms such as:

In the past, most women who had fibroids with symptoms required surgery to correct the problem; recent research, however, has led to many new treatments that do not require surgery.

Medication: The following medicines are used to decrease the size of fibroids in preparation for surgery, or to decrease the symptoms caused by fibroids:

Surgical Treatments

Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE): UAE shrinks fibroids by cutting off their blood supply. A catheter is threaded from the groin up into the uterine artery. The blood vessels supplying the fibroids are identified and material is used to block blood flow to the tumor. This procedure is usually done in women who are not planning to get pregnant again.

References    Return to top

Katsumori T, Kasahara T. Uterine artery embolization versus hysterectomy in the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids (EMMY trial). Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2006;195:1190.

Evans P, Brunsell S. Uterine fibroid tumors: diagnosis and treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2007;75:1452-1453.

Gupta JK, Sinha AS, Lumsten MA, Hickey M. Uterine artery embolization for symptomatic uterine fibroids. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006;25.

Lethaby A, Vollenhoven B. Fibroids (uterine myomatosis, leiomyomas). Clin Evid. 2005;14:2264-2282.

Update Date: 11/9/2007

Updated by: Peter Chen, M.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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