Uterine fibroids
are also called leiomyomas,
myomas, and fibromyomas. They are benign tumors of uterine
smooth muscle. There are three types
of fibroids; submucosal, intramural,
and subserosal; depending on where
the fibroid is located. Fibroids can
be any size from 2 cm to 8cm in
diameter. They usually present with
more than one, though single
fibroids do exist.
The exact cause of
fibroids is not fully
understood. They do respond to
hormone production, namely estrogen. This is evident by the fact that
they tend to get larger during the
reproductive years when estrogen is
high and can spontaneously regress
after menopause when estrogen
production begins to decline.
Women of childbearing
age are most likely to be diagnosed
with fibroids. They
can be found in children who have
not menstruated, though it is rare.
African-American women are more likely to be
affected by fibroids than Caucasian
women. Being overweight or obese
also increases ones risk for developing
fibroids. Having children,
usually decreases
one's risk. [1]
Persons with Fibroids
may be asymptomatic for many years,
and will not even know they have
them. However, once symptoms begin to appear
the fibroids can be quite large. The
most common symptom is menorrhagia,
or excessive bleeding. The bleeding
can occur any time during a woman's
normal menstrual cycle, but most often it is
excessive menstruation.
Other symptoms that
may be prominent are sense of
fullness or pressure in the pelvic
region due to the fibroid
encroaching on other tissues. Women
may develop problems with
incontinence, frequency and urgency
of urination, as well as
constipation.
Pain is usually not a
symptom of fibroids
until the degeneration phase occurs. The pain is caused by the excessive
cramping of the uterus trying to
expel the fibroid. Pain can also be
due to the inflammatory process of
breaking down the fibroid.
Fibroids can
cause infertility in some women.
This is mainly due to an increased
risk of early miscarriage, and not
due to a difficulty conceiving. Once
pregnancy is established, the
fibroids do not seem to disrupt the
pregnancy, though they could
potentially cause
preterm labor and malpresentation. [2]
Women with fibroids
may suffer from iron deficiency
anemia, caused by excessive blood
loss. They may have symptoms
associated with anemia such as
fatigue, pallor, and shortness of
breath.
-
25-27% of women
in the US have clinically
symptomatic fibroids.
-
It is estimated
that as many as 77% of women of
childbearing age have fibroids,
mostly asymptomatic.
-
Each year there
are an estimated 200,000
hysterectomies due to fibroids.
-
African American
women have a 3-5 times the risk of
white women. [3]
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