What are uterine fibroids?

Uterine fibroids are a common disease among women. Many women ignore them because the early symptoms are not obvious. But in fact, if the disease is serious, hospitalization and surgery are required to prevent it from worsening and causing other adverse symptoms.

1. Most patients with uterine fibroids have no symptoms and generally do not experience pain. Patients usually discover the disease during a gynecological examination or ultrasound examination. The appearance of symptoms of uterine fibroids is related to the location and growth rate of the fibroids. The most common symptoms are shortened menstrual cycles, heavier menstrual bleeding or longer menstrual periods. Other symptoms include abdominal masses. Some patients can feel some solid masses in the lower abdomen, which are more obvious when they wake up early in the morning and have a full bladder.

2. Since uterine fibroids generally have no symptoms, regular gynecological examinations should be performed to prevent and treat fibroids so that small fibroids can be detected early. Small tumors can be followed up regularly, while large tumors should be treated actively. Even if you have undergone myomectomy, regular follow-up is still required because the myoma may recur.

3. Under what circumstances should surgery be performed?

The chance of uterine fibroids worsening is very small, generally around 0.5%. Therefore, people with fibroids do not necessarily need surgery. Those below 5 cm can be treated with medication such as orally taking anti-tumor drugs such as mifepristone and danazol. However, regular follow-up examinations are required, and surgical treatment is necessary if any of the following conditions occur:

1. Uterine fibroids cause heavy bleeding, or even anemia due to long-term excessive menstrual flow. At this time, surgical removal should be considered.

2. Uterine fibroids cause compression of other organs in the pelvis. If the tumor is too large, it will press on the bladder, causing frequent urination or difficulty urinating, and surgery is also required.

3. The fibroids grow too fast, or after menopause, the fibroids not only do not shrink but become larger. At the same time, if the fibroids are too large, the chance of deterioration will also increase.

4. If a woman cannot have an orgasm but all other examinations are normal, the cause of the inability to have an orgasm may be uterine fibroids, in which case she must undergo surgical treatment.