Is surgery necessary for uterine fibroids after menopause?

The age of onset of uterine fibroids is mainly middle-aged women, and some women develop uterine fibroids during menopause or postmenopause. Surgical treatment of uterine fibroids is the conventional method. Whether surgery is needed for uterine fibroids after menopause depends on the size and location of the fibroids. Learn more about whether surgery is necessary for uterine fibroids after menopause?

1. Women who are close to menopause or have already gone through menopause, if they suffer from uterine fibroids, generally do not need to undergo hysterectomy or even treatment. This is because the estrogen level in postmenopausal patients is low, and uterine fibroids are estrogen-dependent tumors. When estrogen decreases significantly after menopause, uterine fibroids will naturally stop growing and shrink or disappear. Surgery is not necessary unless the fibroids are very large.

2. Surgery for uterine fibroids is also indicated. Usually, surgery is not required until the fibroids (along with the uterus) reach the size of a uterus corresponding to a two-and-a-half-month pregnancy. In addition, even if the size is not this large, if the menstrual period is very heavy and anemia occurs after drug treatment is ineffective, surgery should be considered.

3. If the fibroid undergoes degeneration, such as hyaline degeneration, surgery may also be considered. The degeneration mentioned here is not a malignant change, but a degenerative change. The probability of uterine fibroids turning into malignant sarcoma is very low, approximately 1/500 to 1/200. Multiple fibroids or fibroids growing close to the uterine cavity (called submucous fibroids) may also require surgery.

4. If various examinations confirm that the fibroids are benign, then you can rest assured that the fibroids will gradually shrink after menopause and will not affect your health and normal life. If imaging and tumor marker examinations combined with symptoms and signs suggest the possibility of malignancy, then timely surgical treatment is required.